Peeping in at the corners of the U.S. CRE financing problems — rates too high, banks wary to lend, refinancing tough to get — are the various rising costs of commercial real estate properties. Expenses that act like a pry bar, pulling profit out of a property's NOI.

Rising insurance premiums and lower levels of coverage are more than an anecdote here and there. In January 2024, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book noted a comment out of the Kansas City Fed: "Some contacts suggested that transaction activity may pick up slightly in coming months as appetites for restructuring loans may increase after year end. Yet, falling rents and rising insurance costs adversely affecting net operating incomes remained widely cited concerns inhibiting loan restructuring when desired."

In July 2023, Moody's Investor Service calculated that for CRE, insurance had risen by 73% over the previous five years. Commercial property insurance premiums hit a record rise of 20.4% in the first quarter of 2023. It was the first time since 2001 that rates had jumped more than 20%. Premiums were rising by double digits in many markets. Some policy renewals offered half the coverage for that same price they had the previous period.