Community associations occupy a larger share of the U.S. housing system every year. The Foundation for Community Association Research estimates that there were about 369,000 community associations and 77.1 million residents in 2024, with 2025 totals projected between 370,000 and 374,000 associations. This sector includes HOAs, condominium associations, and co-ops across a wide range of geographies and building types.

Boards balance resident expectations, aging buildings, climate-driven exposures, and the rising cost of insurance. Market volatility and higher loss activity shape pricing nationwide, while local laws and building conditions create additional pressures for specific states and cities.

This landscape requires a more strategic approach. Insurance decisions influence reserves, annual budgets, vendor oversight, and long-term planning. Boards gain stronger positioning when they treat insurance as a continuous governance function supported by data, documentation, and proactive action.

Market Shifts: Pricing, Capacity, and Cost Pressure

Insurance for residential real estate has absorbed several years of elevated loss activity, inflation, and reinsurance cost increases. Multifamily properties offer a useful reference point. A 2025 Federal Reserve analysis found that average monthly insurance costs for apartment buildings rose from $39 per unit in 2019 to $68 per unit in 2024 in real terms, an increase of more than 75%. This trend illustrates the structural nature of cost pressure rather than a temporary spike.

Community associations feel similar forces. Higher replacement costs, more frequent severe weather, aging infrastructure, and water damage trends all affect how carriers price risk. In some markets, carriers reduce capacity, trim limits, or tighten underwriting criteria. Boards with properties in coastal states, wildfire-exposed regions, or older urban buildings see the sharpest impact, but even lower-risk communities experience upward pressure on premiums and deductibles.

Within this broader market picture, New York stands out due to its legal landscape. Labor Law 240/241, widely known as the Scaffold Law, imposes strict liability on property owners, including condos and co-ops for gravity-related construction injuries and certain worksite hazards. This standard applies regardless of the contractor’s fault, and carriers account for this elevated exposure by increasing pricing and reducing capacity for General Liability and Umbrella policies.

Boards in New York often pursue more specialized brokers, more rigorous contractor vetting, and comprehensive D&O coverage to strengthen their protection during renovations or capital improvement projects.

Underwriting Trends Boards Should Understand

Underwriting in 2025 focuses strongly on differentiation. Carriers look for signals that separate well-managed communities from those with unmanaged exposure. Two associations may share similar construction and location, yet present very different profiles if one maintains clean documentation, clear maintenance practices, and structured risk controls.

Several themes appear consistently in underwriting feedback:

First, claims quality and patterns carry more weight. Carriers analyze not only the number of claims, but also how quickly incidents are reported, how they cluster by cause (water, slip-and-fall, fire, wind), and whether corrective actions follow repeat losses. Associations with repeated water damage events and limited evidence of mitigation draw closer scrutiny.

Second, documentation and accuracy have greater influence. Underwriters expect clear schedules of values, accurate total insured value (TIV), and consistent records across submissions. Gaps in information slows quotes and weakens advocacy from brokers. Well-structured submissions signal operational discipline.

Third, vendor and contractor oversight matter more in an era of increased litigation and higher severity. Associations that require Certificates of Insurance and policies from vendors, track compliance, and align contractual terms with coverage expectations present a more attractive risk. Vendor-related losses often appear in loss runs, and carrier questions about risk transfer practices arise earlier in the process.

Finally, governance and communication play a subtle but meaningful role. Boards with clear policies, documented decisions, and evidence of long-term planning tend to handle risk more proactively. Underwriters respond positively when brokers present a narrative built on both numbers and governance practices.

What Boards Should Prepare for in 2026

The year ahead calls for boards to treat insurance as an ongoing strategic function. Several priorities stand out.

Boards benefit from a deeper review of loss history across several years. Understanding which building systems, locations, or activities generate most losses allows the board to focus maintenance budgets, reserve studies, and capital projects on the areas with greatest impact on future claims. Water damage, slip-and-fall incidents, and aging roofing or mechanical systems frequently appear as recurring themes.

Next, data organization and submission quality deserve dedicated attention. Clean claims lists, updated values, clear schedules, and documented improvements support brokers as they negotiate with carriers. Many underwriters receive hundreds of submissions in constrained markets. Organized information stands out and helps secure more thoughtful underwriting.

Boards also gain advantage from vendor and contractor alignment. This includes updating contracts, tightening minimum insurance requirements, and tracking policies and COIs within a system. Winter-related services, high-risk trades, and major projects require particular focus.

Finally, boards can prepare members for the financial reality of continued cost pressure, while also highlighting the steps taken to manage that pressure. Clear communication about risk improvements, capital projects, and documentation upgrades helps residents understand that the association treats insurance as a managed discipline.

How myNIME Supports a 2026-Ready Board

Data and coordination sit at the center of this new environment. Boards, property managers, and brokers require a shared view of policies, claims, unit-level coverage, and vendor compliance to present a strong story to carriers. myNIME supports that alignment by centralizing insurance information for HOA, condo, and co-op communities.

myNIME enables property stakeholders to store policies, track claims, manage vendor policies and COIs, and organize quotes in one workspace. During renewal season, this structure allows brokers to build submissions and comparison views from verified data. Throughout the year, boards gain an at-a-glance picture of expiring coverage, open claims, and unit-level exposures.

myNIME helps property managers, boards, and brokers navigate the 2026 insurance landscape with clarity, structure, and confidence.

To see how centralized insurance data strengthens your next renewal: