Construction-phase insurance is on the table, and CalHFA needs advisors
California is asking whether the state itself should start insuring construction loans on affordable housing projects.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 750 on September 29, 2026, directing the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) to study credit enhancement tools - including construction-phase insurance products - designed to bring down interest rates on state-assisted housing developments.
The law, authored by Senator Dave Cortese, treats construction lending costs as the priority target: those short-term, high-rate loans covering the 12-to-36-month build period before a project converts to permanent debt.
The scope reads like a product development brief for an insurer. CalHFA must evaluate portfolio-based loan loss reserves providing first-loss coverage, partial state guarantees on principal loss, construction-phase insurance or backstop products, and hybrid models transitioning projects from construction enhancement into permanent federal risk-sharing programs - including the FHA-HFA Risk-Sharing Program.
The bill also asks CalHFA to examine credit enhancement for projects that do not use federal mortgage insurance, testing whether the state should build its own alternative.
Beyond construction and permanent lending, the study covers mechanisms to encourage pension funds and housing trusts to invest in housing development, tools to boost midsize housing projects, and credit enhancement to complement local and regional bond projects.
The law specifically names insurance and reinsurance advisors among the required consultants - alongside construction lenders, permanent lenders, community development financial institutions, bond underwriters, actuaries, credit risk modelers, rating agency consultants, affordable housing developers, and other state housing finance agencies.
CalHFA must produce capitalization scenarios, leverage ratios, estimated borrowing cost reductions expressed in basis points, portfolio-level savings projections, sensitivity analysis under adverse conditions, projected claims frequency and severity, and a net present value analysis comparing borrower savings to required state capitalization. The agency must also address premium pricing structures and cost recovery models.
An interim report goes to the Legislature and the Department of Finance by January 1, 2028. The final report - including recommended program design, fiscal impact analysis, risk modeling, and an implementation roadmap for reducing construction financing costs - is due July 1, 2028.
For insurers and reinsurers watching the affordable housing space, the study is an early signal that California may be building a new state-administered risk product - and looking for private market partners to help design it.
SB 750 is enacted law, signed and filed with the Secretary of State on September 29, 2026.
