Property insurance would be easier to get and could cost less if the federal government played a larger role in the market, budget analysts say.
But the new responsibility would cost the federal government — and ultimately taxpayers — if Washington expanded its mission to either directly insure homes or subsidize insurance companies after disasters.
“Both approaches would increase the availability of disaster insurance and could improve its affordability,” wrote the authors of a Congressional Budget Office report released last month. “Both approaches would impose costs on the federal government.”
The findings comes as there’s growing interest in a new role for the federal government when it comes to insurance. Premiums for private sector insurance are increasing and availability is decreasing in the face of climate-juiced wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters.
