Texas homeowners insurance, explained

By the Quiet Quotes editorial team. Last reviewed November 3, 2026 against the sources listed at the bottom. General education, not advice about any specific policy.

Is home insurance required in Texas?

No Texas law requires it. If you still owe money on your home, your mortgage lender will require it (TDI home insurance guide).

What a Texas home policy covers

Most policies have six parts (TDI):

• Dwelling: the house itself.
• Other structures: detached garages, fences, sheds.
• Personal property: your belongings.
• Loss of use: extra living costs while you cannot live at home, often 10 to 20 percent of dwelling coverage or a set period such as 24 months.
• Personal liability: if you are responsible for someone's injury or property damage.
• Medical payments: minor injuries to guests, regardless of fault.

Since 2003, insurers can file their own policy forms with TDI instead of using the state's standard ones. TDI's last published comparison (2018) groups them from basic to broad: HO-A covers only listed perils, HO-B covers the house against everything not excluded and your belongings against listed perils, and HO-C covers both house and belongings against everything not excluded (TDI, Texas Homeowners Policies).

Replacement cost or actual cash value

Replacement cost pays to repair or replace without subtracting depreciation. Actual cash value subtracts depreciation, so it pays less for older roofs and belongings. If you and the insurer disagree on the amount of a loss, either side can demand appraisal.

What is usually not covered

• Flood: "Most home policies don't cover damage caused by floods" (TDI).
• Slow leaks: continuous or repeated leaking or seepage is a common exclusion. Some policies cover sudden water discharge but not seepage that lasted 14 days or more.
• Mold: covered only to repair damage from a covered water loss.
• Foundation and slab damage: TDI lists it as optional coverage you add, not standard.
• Also common: wear and tear, termites and rodents, earthquake, losses while the home is vacant longer than the policy allows, and wind or hail damage to trees and shrubs.

Some insurers sell add-ons for flood, earthquake, seepage, vacancy and mold. Ask before you buy.

Percentage deductibles for wind and hail

A deductible can be a dollar amount or a percentage of your dwelling coverage. TDI's example: on a home insured for $150,000, a 5 percent deductible is $7,500, so a $6,500 roof repair pays nothing. With a $500 deductible, the same claim pays $6,000 (TDI).

Texas law requires every residential policy's declarations page to list each deductible and its exact dollar amount, and to explain any provision that can change it (Insurance Code 2301.056). Compare deductibles in dollars, not percentages.

Coastal homes: TWIA windstorm coverage

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association sells wind and hail coverage where private insurers may not. It covers the 14 first-tier coastal counties (Aransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Galveston, Jefferson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio and Willacy) and parts of Harris County east of Highway 146, including La Porte, Morgan's Point, Pasadena, Seabrook and Shore Acres (TWIA, TDI).

To qualify, you generally need:

• A denial from at least one insurer writing wind and hail coverage in the area.
• Proof the home meets building code: a WPI-8 certificate (inspected during construction) or WPI-8-E (inspected after completion by a licensed engineer). New construction, roof replacements and major repairs usually need one. Ask your contractor before work starts, because inspecting afterward can cost more (TDI).
• Flood insurance, if the home is in flood zone V, VE or V1 to 30 and was built or substantially changed on or after September 1, 2009.

File a TWIA claim within one year of the damage. TWIA must accept or deny it in writing within 60 days (Insurance Code 2210.573).

The Texas FAIR Plan

The FAIR Plan is a last resort for owners of houses, townhouses, condos and manufactured homes who cannot find a licensed company to insure them. It also sells renters insurance. You must have been turned down by two insurers, and you do not qualify if any company has offered you a policy (TDI).

Flood insurance

• Waiting period: National Flood Insurance Program coverage starts 30 days after purchase. There is no wait if you buy it when you get, increase, extend or renew a mortgage, and a one-day wait applies in some cases after a flood map change (FloodSmart).
• Limits: NFIP covers up to $250,000 for the home and $100,000 for belongings. You can also buy flood coverage from private insurers (TDI).
• Outside flood zones too: TDI says 40 percent of NFIP claims come from outside high-risk flood areas.
• Same price everywhere: NFIP rates are the same from every participating company.

Your claim rights: the Texas prompt payment law

If an insurer delays payment more than 60 days after receiving everything it asked for, it owes interest (18 percent a year in most cases) plus reasonable attorney's fees (Insurance Code chapter 542). Surplus lines insurers get longer deadlines. For weather claims such as hail, wind or flood, you must give the insurer written notice at least 61 days before suing (Insurance Code 542A.003).

How to complain to TDI

Talk to your company first. If that fails, file a written complaint with TDI online, or call the TDI Help Line at 800-252-3439. TDI contacts the company, which has 25 days to respond. TDI cannot force a payment if the company followed the law, and it does not handle complaints about contractors or roofers (TDI complaints, how TDI helps).

Your credit and your premium

Texas insurers may use credit-based insurance scores, with limits (Insurance Code chapter 559):

• No denial, cancellation or nonrenewal based on credit alone.
• They must tell you at application that credit may be used, and send a notice with reasons within 30 days if it hurts you.
• Medical collections and inquiries you did not start cannot count against you.
• After a major life event (serious illness, a death in the family, temporary job loss, divorce, identity theft), you can ask in writing for an exception.
• If a credit error raised your premium, the insurer must re-rate within 30 days and refund the difference.
• At renewal you can ask to be re-rated on a current score once every 12 months.

What Texans pay

TDI reports these statewide average annual homeowners premiums. 2025 is preliminary (TDI market overview).

Your price depends on your home, location, coverage and deductible. Rate filings in Texas recently trended down: TDI reports filed changes averaging minus 4.3 percent from July to September 2026.

Questions

Sources

• TDI: home insurance guide
• TDI: Texas homeowners policies (2018)
• TDI: Texas homeowners insurance market overview
• TDI: deductibles
• TDI: windstorm inspections
• TDI: insurers of last resort (TWIA and FAIR Plan)
• TDI: flood insurance
• TDI: file a complaint
• TWIA: coverage eligibility
• FEMA FloodSmart: buy a policy
• Texas Insurance Code, chapter 542 (prompt payment of claims)
• Texas Insurance Code, chapter 559 (credit scoring)
• Texas Insurance Code, chapter 2210 (TWIA)
• Texas Insurance Code, chapter 2301 (deductible disclosure)