Rhino’s Dealshield Targets Climate Risk Home Insurability In California

Property insurance startup Rhino is looking to help real estate agents and their clients assess insurability and find insurance for properties in areas facing high rates of climate disaster risk. 

To achieve this goal, Rhino, an insurance brokerage that specializes in securing insurance policies for climate-risk exposed properties in California, has launched DealShield. The software platform provides agents with real-time, listing-level information about a property’s insurability, as well as quotes for property insurance. 

DealShield is currently only available to agents and consumers in California, but co-founder and CEO Michael Chien said the company hopes to turn DealShield into a multistate offering by the end of 2026. Chien said Rhino will first focus on states facing climate risk challenges. 

According to Chein, Rhino and DealShield were created out of a desire to create a better experience for those looking for property insurance. It also puts a tool in the hands of real estate agents to make sense of property data, enabling them to better inform and serve their clients. 

Deal fallout spurs action

In 2025, the California Association of Realtors reported that one in six members had a deal fall out of escrow because the buyer was unable to secure property insurance — double the share of Realtors who faced this challenge in 2023.

DealShield analyzes location data, hazard risk, disclosure packets, inspection reports, photos and other related materials to produce an “Insurability Report.” This provides agents and their clients with information on premiums and policies. According to the company, in early testing, DealShield helped two-thirds of homeowners in high-risk areas find property insurance options outside of the California FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort. 

The insurability reports provide agents and consumers with an analysis of property features that could impact a property’s insurability, including the age of the roof, location hazards or material hazards. If an agent or their client requests an insurability report or insurance quotes, they are not required to obtain a Rhino insurance policy. 

“We think using DealShield puts us in a position to be the most efficient broker a consumer could work with, but it is not a requirement to use us,” Chien said. 

Agents can onboard themselves into the DealShield platform. They are currently able to search addresses for free within the platform, but Chien said eventually they plan to charge for the service. 

“We have a variety of both listing agents and buyer’s agents using the product to educate their clients. The listing agents are using it to identify things that might need to be replaced or repaired to make the house more insurable and potentially easier to sell,” Chien said.

While the product has only been available to select brokers through a beta testing program, the feedback so far has been positive. 

‘Tedious process’ made smoother

Heather Gowdy, a real estate agent with Twin Oaks Real Estate in Walnut Creek, California, said that shopping for insurance quotes can be a “tedious process.” 

To make things easier for her and her clients, Gowdy has a few insurance brokers she typically works with. But through DealShield, she said she’s able to see insurance quotes and insurability risks within minutes. 

“I think that it is amazing to be able to provide potential sellers and buyers with this information because the insurance part of a transaction can be such an unknown,” Gowdy said. 

In a market that is currently very competitive, Gowdy said being able to access this information quickly, allowing her buyers to submit an informed offer on a property in a timely manner, could be a big advantage. 

Additionally, as a listing agent, Gowdy said being able to provide this information to prospective buyers upfront is a big advantage as it enables both the seller and the buyer to set realistic expectations going into any potential transaction. 

“The seller then isn’t surprised that a buyer backs out because of the cost of insurance, or the buyer isn’t surprised that they need to replace an old wood shingle roof to obtain less expensive insurance,” she said. 

Looking ahead, Chien said he hopes to launch DealShield for agents in consumers in regions facing flood, hail and even wind damage risk.