Emergency declared over Hawaii condo association insurance rates

HONOLULU — Gov. Josh Green used emergency power Wednesday to help a pair of state government insurance carriers sell policies to Hawaii condominium projects in an effort to relieve many condo owners from skyrocketing industry rates.

Green signed an emergency proclamation to increase funding for the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund and the Hawaii Property Insurance Association while also suspending limitations on the two entities so that they can offer hurricane and property insurance policies to large condo associations.

"The recent surge in condo insurance rates is placing an unbearable burden on homeowners across our state," Green said in a statement. "This emergency proclamation is a critical step to stabilize our insurance market and protect our residents from further financial strain."

Insurance rates for some condo projects in Hawaii have soared by as much as 1,000%, according to the governor, due to global insurance industry dynamics tied to more catastrophic events around the world recently.

The emergency proclamation was issued after a task force Green formed in June issued recommendations after meeting twice in July.

In a July 22 letter to Green, the Executive and Legislative Condo and Property Insurance Task Force requested that the governor exercise emergency powers to eliminate monetary limits set in Hawaii law that make it impracticable for HHRF and HPIA to provide master policy insurance coverage to condo associations, and to lend the two entities money from the general fund to provide the desired coverage.

The task force is led by state Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito, House Speaker Scott Saiki (D, Ala Moana-Kakaako-Downtown) and Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D, Kaneohe-Kailua).

Other members include representatives from the insurance, mortgage lending and real estate industries.

In a statement, Saiki said, "I want to thank the Governor for accepting the recommendation of the Insurance Task Force and recognizing that we are in a state of emergency."

The task force recommended that Green use his emergency power to also implement a list of policy changes that the Legislature considered but failed to pass earlier this year in a bill.

House and Senate leaders could not agree on a final version of House Bill 2686, despite negotiations over four days in April, after approval in the House could not be obtained.

A proposed compromise draft of HB 2686 would have appropriated up to $60 million from state general fund revenue to HHRF and HPIA as a loan or line of credit, split evenly, to obtain reinsurance for condo association policies.

Reinsurance is something insurers buy to cover extraordinary losses. Such reinsurance, which is tied to the global insurance industry and influences the price of a policy, has recently been driving up policy costs but also has increased 20% to 50% annually during the past several years, Ito said earlier this year.

Ito also has said that the reinsurance industry worldwide incurred losses in five of the past six years totaling over $100 billion, and that in 2023 there were 23 climate-related disasters in the United States that each caused at least $1 billion in losses. The Lahaina wildfire disaster a year ago was one of those events, with an estimated $3.3 billion in insured losses.

The proposed compromise draft of HB 2686 that failed to pass also would have limited HHRF and HPIA coverage for condo associations to five years, and prohibited coverage if a condo project has maintenance issues that materially affect the insurability of the property for the type of coverage sought.

A spokesperson for the Insurance Division of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs said the amount of money and timetable for providing condo association insurance through HHRF and HPIA under the emergency proclamation have yet to be determined. However, there is about $170 million currently in the hurricane relief fund.

The task force is also expected to continue work to identify potential ways to address rising costs of property insurance for Hawaii condo owners.

"By working closely with industry experts, federal partners and legislative leaders, we aim to ensure that Hawaii remains a viable and secure place to live, even in the face of global insurance challenges," Green said. "Our commitment is to safeguard the interests of our communities and provide stability for people living and working in Hawaii."