Property insurance premiums have increased significantly over the last decade. Because insurance coverage is generally required for obtaining a mortgage, these large premium increases could have strong implications for the mortgage market. In their research, Chicago Fed Senior Economist and Economic Advisor Shanthi Ramnath and her coauthors analyze the relationship between property insurance premiums and prospective and current homeowners’ access to mortgage and refinancing loans.

On Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. CT, join the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Economic Mobility Project for Impact of Rising Property Insurance Premiums on the Mortgage Market. Hear from Ramnath, discussing her research, followed by a panel of experts including Stephanie Moulton, professor and acting dean for the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University; Daniel Ringo, and Tess Scharlemann, both principal economists in the Real Estate Finance Section at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; and John Sim, head of securitized products research at JPMorgan Chase & Company. Kristen Broady, senior economist, economic advisor, and director of the Economic Mobility Project at the Chicago Fed, will moderate. The panelists will consider questions including how debt-to-income-ratio constraints, insufficient collateral values, and location-specific property insurance premiums impact access to the mortgage market