California Considers Construction Insurance Role to Support Factory-Built Housing

Daily NewsFlash Insurance News, Delivered. Stay up-to-date on all things insurance. Sign up for our free newsletter. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Email *Custom Captcha * = Subscribe California lawmakers are exploring a new approach to address the state’s housing shortage. A recently introduced legislative package focuses on expanding factory-built housing, including a proposal that would involve the state in construction insurance. Per Cal Matters, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks of Oakland, along with a bipartisan group of legislators, introduced several bills to encourage cost-cutting construction methods. The package places particular emphasis on factory-based building, where homes are constructed off-site and transported for installation. Supporters of factory-built housing point to several potential benefits. These include faster construction timelines, safer working conditions, and lower overall costs. These efficiencies are expected to help make housing more affordable. However, despite long-standing interest in the concept, the industry has not reached large-scale adoption. Industry advocates cite regulatory and financial barriers as key challenges. One proposal, Assembly Bill 2166, takes a different approach from the rest of the package. Authored by Wicks and Assemblymember Juan Carrillo of Palmdale, the bill aims to provide insurance guarantees for developers and lenders working with factory-built housing. While details remain limited...