Gothamist – Landlords of NYC affordable housing launch new venture to combat spiking insurance costs
Several affordable housing landlords are fighting back against skyrocketing insurance rates with a new strategy that they say will get
Milford Street Association was created TO PROVIDE affordable housing operators in NY State with an sustainable insurance solution that the market currently can’t provide.
Milford Street Association & Captive is a captive insurance company created to seek relief from ever escalating insurance costs. Originally led by Dick Ravitch, a group of affordable housing developers and managers chose to take control of their risks and risk pricing. The current insurance market pricing has made NYS affordable housing as currently constructed is nearly impossible to operate. Milford Street Association & Captive resembles a traditional insurance company, but its sole focus is to provide insurance coverage for affordable housing projects in NY.
Milford Street Association & Captive provides a number of positive benefits
- Cost Efficiency: will lower insurance costs by eliminating some overhead and creating more accurate claims experiences. It is also free of the seemingly insatiable profit desires of the existing commercial market insurers which has resulted in premiums increasing exponentially over the last few years.
- Better Risk Management Control: shared underwriting, claims handling, and security evaluations/ audits are a decided benefit of the Captive.
- Financial Benefits: The captive can build excess surplus both from investment income and collected premiums that ultimately don’t get paid out. This will allow the Association to hold premiums costs down over time and create more stability of rates going forward. We can also look to invest in strategies or technologies that can help members to further lower costs and reduce liabilities.
- Tailored Coverage: provides a multi-family liability solution tailored to the specific needs of affordable housing operators in NY. Affordable Housing requires stable and predictable rates for goods and services wherever possible; the captive makes this a reality by basically delivering wholesale pricing.
Who are the Members of the Milford Street Association?
Dick Ravitch
Chairmen Emeritus
“Dick really provided the pathway to making this all happen. He lent his years of service and experience along with his vast series of relationships to make the Milford Street Captive a reality.
None of this would have been possible without his unwavering confidence that fixing the affordable housing insurance problem is an essential component to preserving homes for NY’ers who need it the most.
Right until the very end, Dick worked every day to bring the Milford Street Captive to the market.
Our success is a testament not only to his belief in the necessity of affordable housing but in the ability of public-private partnerships to deliver results that would otherwise be unachievable without that joint collaboration.
He understood that big problems vexing the Government need all participants to work together for a better NY .”
– John A Crotty
Peter Davis
Chairmen
Susan Camerata
John A. Crotty
Ruben Diaz Jr
Nicole Ferreira
John Murphy
Thomas McMahon
Membership
Membership requires properties have a regulatory agreement AND have received a subsidy from either the City, State or Federal housing financing agencies. The Association’s focus is based on operational optimization by lowering operations risk to drive superior results. The Associations risk manager is tasked with making specific recommendations to minimize the insureds current and future liability, while sharing best practices with all. All membership is ultimately approved by the board based on the guidelines for requirements for membership in the Association, loss history and responsiveness to recommended upgrades aimed at lowering liability.
Press
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