What climate questions should I ask before buying a house?

Ask the seller for the last three years of insurance premiums and any non-renewal or cancellation notices, whether the block has flooded or evacuated, and what hardening they've done. Ask the insurer for a written quote including flood before you go under contract. Ask your own model — not the seller — for an address-level risk score.

Do sellers have to disclose climate risk?

Disclosure laws vary. California, New York, Texas, and about a dozen others require flood-history disclosure. Wildfire disclosure is emerging (California). No state requires forward climate-projection disclosure, so the buyer has to do that homework.

What should I ask the insurance carrier?

Get a written quote for the actual address — not the seller's carrier and not a verbal number. Include separate flood coverage. Ask what would trigger non-renewal, whether the carrier is currently writing new policies in the ZIP, and what mitigation discounts apply.

What red flags should stop a purchase?

Recent non-renewal, only surplus-lines coverage available, insurance premium above 3% of the purchase price, or an address in a rapidly-changing flood or wildfire zone with no meaningful hardening. Any of these should be priced into the offer or walked away from.

How do I get an address-level climate score?

Run the address through ArchipelAI's homeowner demo for a free score across flood, wildfire, wind, heat, and grid outages, plus a 20-year outlook and insurability index.

Climate questions to ask before buying a house.

Climate questions to ask before buying.

The short list of questions a smart buyer asks the seller, the agent, and the insurer before writing an offer — plus the red flags that should stop one.

Ask the seller (in writing)

Have you had a flood, fire, wind, or hail loss in the last 10 years?
Have you been non-renewed or received a cancellation notice from an insurer?
What is the current annual homeowner's premium? What was it 3 years ago?
Do you carry separate flood insurance? What does it cost?
Has the block ever flooded, evacuated, or been without power for more than 24 hours?
What hardening have you done — roof, straps, shutters, defensible space, elevated mechanicals?
Are there active or expired disaster-mitigation grants tied to the property?

Ask the agent

What's the disclosure requirement in this state, and has the seller met it in writing?
What's the comparable non-renewal rate in this ZIP?
How many recent sales in this micro-market had insurance-related contingency issues?

Ask the insurer

Give me a written homeowner's quote for the actual address, including all mandatory endorsements.
Give me a written NFIP or private flood quote.
Are you currently writing new policies in this ZIP code?
What would trigger a non-renewal — proximity to a fire perimeter, a claim above a threshold, a state-mandated tier change?
Which mitigation discounts apply and how do I document them?
What's the expected 3-year premium trajectory for this address?

Ask your own data

The seller and the insurer both have reasons to shade their answers. Get an independent read.

Address-level climate score across every peril, not just the one making the news.
20-year outlook — because the buyer you sell to will care about 2040s risk, not 2026's.
Insurability index — the leading indicator for price, ahead of the actual non-renewal.

Run the address through the ArchipelAI homeowner demo — no login for a first score.

Red flags that should stop a purchase

Recent non-renewal by an admitted carrier with no clear reason.
Only surplus-lines (E&S) coverage available — signals the address is uninsurable in the admitted market.
Homeowner's + flood premium above ~3% of the purchase price.
Address in a rapidly-changing flood or wildfire zone with no defensible space, no hardening, and no seller concession.
Repeated loss history without meaningful mitigation.

How to use this in the offer

Every red flag has a price. Non-renewal risk is worth 3–8% off list. Missing hardening is worth the retrofit cost. Rising premium trajectory is worth the discounted present value of the excess payments. The point is not to walk away from every risky home — it's to price the risk into the offer instead of inheriting it.

// frequently asked

Common questions

What climate questions should I ask before buying a house?: Ask the seller for the last three years of insurance premiums and any non-renewal or cancellation notices, whether the block has flooded or evacuated, and what hardening they've done. Ask the insurer for a written quote including flood before you go under contract. Ask your own model — not the seller — for an address-level risk score.
Do sellers have to disclose climate risk?: Disclosure laws vary. California, New York, Texas, and about a dozen others require flood-history disclosure. Wildfire disclosure is emerging (California). No state requires forward climate-projection disclosure, so the buyer has to do that homework.
What should I ask the insurance carrier?: Get a written quote for the actual address — not the seller's carrier and not a verbal number. Include separate flood coverage. Ask what would trigger non-renewal, whether the carrier is currently writing new policies in the ZIP, and what mitigation discounts apply.
What red flags should stop a purchase?: Recent non-renewal, only surplus-lines coverage available, insurance premium above 3% of the purchase price, or an address in a rapidly-changing flood or wildfire zone with no meaningful hardening. Any of these should be priced into the offer or walked away from.
How do I get an address-level climate score?: Run the address through ArchipelAI's homeowner demo for a free score across flood, wildfire, wind, heat, and grid outages, plus a 20-year outlook and insurability index.

// try the model

Run this on your address.

See your address-level flood, fire, wind, heat, and outage scores — plus a 20-year outlook. No login for the demo.

open the demo →see pricing