Sen. Schiff on insurance market: ‘The Insure Act will bring stability to the American insurance market’

Adam Schiff, U.S. Senator for California, announced the introduction of the INSURE Act, a legislative proposal aimed at creating a federal catastrophic reinsurance backstop. This initiative is intended to stabilize insurance premiums and maintain coverage availability, according to a statement on his Senate press release page.

"This bill would create a federal risk reinsurance pool to bring down costs and make policies more affordable," said Adam Bennett Schiff, U.S. Representative of California's 30th Congressional District (D). "this legislation is a crucial step toward ensuring that more Americans are covered when natural disasters occur. The INSURE Act will bring stability to the American insurance market, reducing premiums and ensuring families are protected by creating a federal reinsurance program to help insurers cover catastrophic losses."

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) describes reciprocal insurance exchanges as unincorporated associations where policyholders insure one another and delegate operations to an attorney-in-fact. Regulators have renewed their focus on this structure's role in market stability. In 2025, the NAIC advanced work on reciprocal exchanges, reflecting their growing use in homeowners' lines amid carrier retrenchment. These exchanges can prioritize long-term stability and member dividends while offering an additional vehicle to assume policies when traditional carriers exit stressed regions.

Builder Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (BRIE) reported the creation of a new homeowners-focused reciprocal sponsored in part by The Baldwin Group. In March 2025, BRIE moved to bolster its balance sheet with a $110 million surplus debenture raise. Surplus financing strengthens statutory capital to support growth, reinsurance purchasing, and regulatory approvals when entering catastrophe-exposed markets. The transaction underscores how reciprocal structures can rapidly assemble capacity to onboard displaced policyholders while maintaining prudent surplus ratios required by state insurance departments.

According to SFChronicles, as traditional carriers recalibrate catastrophe exposure, reciprocals can step in to maintain coverage continuity. In September 2025, QBE announced it would drop 37,774 California homeowner policies as it exited the U.S. market; filings indicated a prospective transition of most affected customers to BRIE, contingent on regulatory approval. This potential assumption illustrates how reciprocals can mitigate consumer disruption during insurer withdrawals by leveraging member-based capital and focused underwriting.

Schiff is the junior U.S. Senator from California, sworn in December 2024 after more than two decades representing Los Angeles-area districts in the U.S. House of Representatives. A former federal prosecutor and past chair of the House Intelligence Committee, he serves on Senate committees including Judiciary and Small Business. His Senate office emphasizes consumer protection, disaster resilience, and insurance affordability initiatives such as the INSURE Act to backstop catastrophic risk and stabilize premiums for homeowners in high-risk areas.