Home Inspections and Your Insurance Quote
Insurers may inspect the home to check its condition, age and roof, which can affect your quote.
Free to compare
Two different inspections
The inspection for the sale, the one checking the furnace and the foundation, is not what the insurer uses. An insurer may order its own, often just photos of the roof and exterior, to check condition and confirm what you told them on the application.
Roof age and material
Roof condition is one of the first things an insurer checks. An older roof or one with visible wear can raise your quote or limit which coverage options you're offered. The roof's age and material are usually listed on the seller's disclosure if you don't know them yet.
What you reported
Your quote starts from what you reported on the application. That includes square footage, year built, construction type, and any updates to wiring or plumbing. If an inspection finds something different, the insurer can adjust the price or ask for repairs before binding coverage.
Timing against your closing date
If an inspection is required, it can happen before or after the policy binds, depending on the insurer. Ask early how long it takes to schedule. Your lender needs a binder in hand before closing, and a delayed inspection can hold that up.
Quotes before an inspection are built on what you reported, not on what the roof and systems turn out to be. Two insurers can start from the same application and land on different prices once their own checks come back, or offer different terms on an older roof. Comparing quotes now means you're not stuck with the first number if an inspection changes it.
What an inspection can change after you're already insured
Getting a binder in place for closing is not the end of the inspection question. Most policies allow the insurer to inspect the home within the first 60 to 90 days of coverage, even after you've moved in. This is separate from anything done before binding, and it happens on the insurer's schedule, not yours.
If that inspection turns up something the application didn't mention, a few things can happen. The insurer might ask for repairs within a set window, often 30 days, for issues like a damaged roof, exposed wiring, or a tree limb hanging over the house. It might adjust your premium going forward. In some cases it can decide not to renew the policy at the next renewal, though it cannot cancel mid-term just because of what the inspection found unless the issue is serious and unaddressed.
Older homes and homes bought as-is carry more of this risk. The pre-sale inspection may have flagged things that never got fixed before closing. A cracked foundation, an aging electrical panel, or a roof near the end of its life can all surface in a post-binding inspection even if none of it came up when you first applied. Reading that earlier inspection report again with insurance in mind, not just resale value, can save a surprise letter a few months into owning the house.
None of this means coverage is shaky once it's in place. Most post-binding inspections confirm what was already reported and nothing changes. Knowing the insurer can look again, and what it can ask for if it does, is still useful going into the first year in the house. If repairs are flagged, getting them done and documented quickly is what keeps the policy on track for renewal.
What if the inspection happens before you close
Some insurers want the exterior inspection done before they bind coverage, not after. If that is how the one you are working with operates, the order matters. The photos or walkthrough get scheduled, the insurer reviews them, and only then does the policy bind. Each step takes time, and if the timeline is tight against your closing date, this is where it can slip.
A roof that looks fine from the ground can still get flagged once someone is up close or looking at a clear photo. Missing shingles, a sagging section, or a chimney that needs flashing work are all things a pre-binding inspection catches. If it does, the insurer may ask for the repair before it will bind. It may instead bind at a higher premium. Either way, that answer needs to come back before the lender gets its binder.
Asking about inspection timing early is worth doing before picking a quote, not after. Some insurers can turn around an exterior photo inspection in a day or two. Others take a week or more, especially if a person has to physically visit the house rather than review satellite or street-level images. If closing is three weeks out and the roof is older, that difference decides whether this insurer is even workable for the timeline.
Having the roof's age, recent repairs, and any permits on hand speeds things along if a pre-binding inspection is going to happen. The same seller's disclosure that lists the roof's age and material can usually answer the inspector's questions before they are asked. Getting that paperwork together before the inspection is scheduled, rather than scrambling for it afterward, is often what keeps closing on schedule.
Before you pick a quote
Pull the roof's age and material off the seller's disclosure and ask each insurer how long their inspection takes. That answer, matched against your closing date, tells you which quote is actually workable.
