How Insurance Friction Shows Up at Closing—and How You Can Get Ahead of It
Builder sales teams are facing a healthy spring homebuying market, with forecasts calling for a 3% rise in single-family housing starts this year. Meanwhile, mortgage rates continue to ease, with 30-year rates forecast to average 6.3% in 2026, down from 6.6% in 2025. Combined with wage growth and moderating inflation, buyers are seeing a modestly improved environment for affordability.
However, many buyers are unaware that insurance costs and availability are putting pressure on home purchase deals like never before.
Insurance premiums are taking up a greater share of the monthly payment budget, now nearing 10% on average. Overall, homeowners insurance premiums are up 21% over the past three years, with an expected 8% increase this year. In areas with higher disaster-related risks, premiums are rising much faster, while some insurers are scaling back the amount of coverage they write.
This scenario is why sales teams in new home communities need an insurance strategy to keep spring sales on track.
Have a conversation up front
The first step is being proactive and addressing the need for insurance with buyers early in the purchase journey and sales workflow. One of the last things on buyers’ minds is insurance—not surprising, when up to half of buyers in new home communities are first-time homeowners.
Finding home insurance has typically been a separate, time-consuming effort for buyers. They tend to defer what has become a critical decision—securing homeowners insurance—until the late stages of the transaction. Unfortunately, this is when insurance availability or price surprises have the potential to delay closings or even break buyers’ budgets, and the deal.
Focusing buyers on the need for insurance early increases certainty and reduces friction, and with a few answers to common questions, sales associates can help buyers be prepared for this critical piece of the home buying process.
Embed insurance into the contract process
The next part of the strategy goes a step further—integrating insurance right into the homebuying process and workflow through a solution known as embedded insurance. This approach has revolutionized how insurance is provided in new home communities, eliminating pitfalls that could arise in the buyer’s search for coverage.
For example, lenders require insurance, but insurers often can’t provide a quote until construction is nearing completion. They also require a lot of information that the buyer may not be familiar with, which results in extra contact with your sales team.
When evaluating an insurance partner, builders should look for three things: deep experience with new construction (not just standard homeowners policies), strong relationships with multiple carriers to ensure competitive pricing and coverage options, and technology that integrates directly with the builder’s processes to eliminate manual back-and-forth.
An insurance expert like Westwood Insurance Agency brings all three — its advanced technology platform and relationships with more than 50 insurers allow it to link directly into a builder’s processes and access the information needed to pre-underwrite the home and deliver buyers a homeowners policy quote within a day after contract signing.
Instead of possibly ending up with inadequate or overpriced protection, buyers get access to policies with broad, competitively priced coverage designed specifically for new construction homes, and the approximate premium cost is known right from the start.
This approach delivers proven results—fewer closing delays, a smoother buying experience, and peace of mind for the buyer.
Choose the right insurance expert
To deliver on the promise of embedded insurance, it makes sense to work with an insurance agency that specializes in locating insurance solutions for new construction homes.
When builders consider an insurance agency for a new home insurance program, experience matters. Westwood has been an expert in insurance for new construction homes for many decades. We work with many of the nation’s leading home builders, providing insurance quotes for more than 75% of newly constructed homes across the U.S.
We’ve built relationships with more than 50 insurance companies, providing buyers access to policy options that offer highly competitive coverage and pricing.
Build your brand with the agency’s service commitment
Closing is the beginning of a long-term relationship between the homeowner and the insurance agency, and if the agency delivers great service, it can enhance your firm’s reputation for years to come. Westwood’s commitment to high-quality service earned a world-class Net Promoter Score of 92 in 2025.
When the unexpected happens and a homeowner has a claim, an experienced agency like Westwood acts with speed and empathy, knowing exactly what to do to guide homeowners and help them recover.
We also recommend an annual insurance review to uncover areas where homeowners are over- or underinsured and fill any gaps in coverage. And if their premium spikes sharply or their insurer cannot renew their policy, a licensed Westwood representative can secure options for replacement coverage.
In today’s market, certainty sells. With the spring buying season in full swing, builders who proactively address late-stage insurance obstacles will not only gain an edge in on-time closings but also increase buyer confidence and build brand trust.
About the Author: Mark Tribendis
Mark Tribendis is Vice President of Business Development at Westwood Insurance Agency. Mark is responsible for prospecting new builders and lenders that may benefit from Westwood’s seamless insurance program. He has nearly 20 years of experience in the insurance industry with a background in claims, underwriting, account management, and business development.
