Climate change is reshaping the housing market in unexpected ways. While insurance availability is shrinking, newly built homes offer a hidden advantage in extreme weather zones.

Take the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. Homes that comply with the state’s 17-year-old wildfire building code, Chapter 7A, are five times more likely to survive a wildfire. The issue in the January fires wasn’t a failure of code but a notable lack of post-2008, Chapter 7A-compliant homes.

The impact of modern building codes isn’t limited to wildfires. The same pattern emerges in Florida, where hurricanes are the primary threat. Florida’s stringent 2002 building code has significantly reduced storm damage compared to homes built before its adoption.

This ‘code dividend’—the tangible benefits of modern building regulations—means homeowners in newer properties often face significantly less risk.

In short, code works.

New Home Popularity

Even in areas without strict building codes, the growing use of resilient materials, improved building methods, and advances in construction science create sturdier, longer-lasting homes.

This is welcome news for home builders and buyers, especially in coastal Sunbelt regions. The pace of development in climate-risky areas of California, Florida, Texas, and other popular locations isn’t likely to diminish. CoreLogic’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer, John Rogers, reports. “Nine percent of U.S. housing stock is at a very high climate risk. By 2050, 16% will be at high risk.”

The Home Insurance Challenge

Despite the resilience of new homes, insurance carriers continue withdrawing from high-risk states like Florida and California, leaving homeowners struggling to secure coverage.

It’s a dilemma that Brett Sobol, Director of Partnerships at Hippo Insurance Services, thinks about a lot. Hippo is a licensed P&C insurance agency and a leader in insuring new homes, helping its partners secure coverage for approximately 100,000 closings annually.

“Buyer preference for a new home is gaining ground for many reasons,” explains Sobol.

“Unfortunately, finding home insurance in the most popular destinations can be challenging.”

Insurance Availability & Affordability

"Hippo is leading the way in solving this challenge while also offering new home buyers the potential to save significantly on insurance costs compared to traditional, existing home insurance offerings—even in states impacted by climate change like California, Florida, and Texas.

“Hippo provides a competitive edge in the new home insurance space: we built our own new home insurance product and partner with other top insurance companies to match buyers with the best available coverage for their situation,” Sobol says

Hippo’s product is designed to provide coverage for newly built homes, underwriting based primarily on the property, rather than the buyer. This approach reflects the lower risk typically associated with modern homes. For the initial policy term, this means:

  • No credit score impact. Buyers aren’t penalized based on their personal credit history.
  • No prior claims history requirement. The buyer’s past insurance claims are not considered.
  • No address verification issues. Unlike traditional policies that require a USPS-validated address, new homes qualify immediately.

Builder Advantages

For builders, the benefits go beyond streamlined closings. For example, leading home builder Lennar converts the vast majority of eligible home buyers seeking home insurance through Hippo’s online purchase option. But simplified conversion is just the beginning:

  • Flexible Solutions for Builders of All Sizes. New home insurance access is available to all, from small local custom builders to national production builders. “We scale to fit the builder’s requirements,” notes Sobol.
  • Coverage Where It’s Needed Most. It ensures nearly any new home, including those built in challenging markets like California, Florida, and Texas.
  • Fast & Competitive Quotes. Each new home is automatically shopped to a panel of insurance carriers to find the best price and coverage in less than 60 seconds.

For industry leaders like Sobol, the way forward is clear. “At a time when climate change has disrupted the home insurance market, it’s good to know builders and new home buyers can count on Hippo Insurance Services for availability, quality, and value.”

Want to close homes faster and help buyers secure affordable coverage? Discover how Hippo can help. Learn more here. (CA License #0K96532)