Homeowners insurance in Texas

The home insurance market in Texas

Texans paid $20.48 billion in homeowners premiums in 2025, according to NAIC market share data, the largest total of any state. These are the 10 largest insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written:

The top three groups write about 47% of the market and the top 10 about 76%, based on NAIC data. SageSure's NAIC group total includes the Houston-based reciprocal exchanges SURE and Elevate, which write coastal homes; Elevate is sold only through Goosehead agents. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) says nearly 160 companies sell home and auto coverage. Groups often write Texas homes through separate companies, such as ASI Lloyds in the Progressive group, so the company named on your declarations page may differ from the brand you bought.

What drives home insurance costs in Texas

Hail first, then hurricanes. The NAIC put Texas' average HO-3 premium at $2,864 for 2023, second only to Louisiana and 65% above the countrywide $1,737. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center logged 902 major hail events (one inch or larger) in Texas in 2025, more than twice as many as any other state, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Recent federal disaster declarations trace the losses:

• April 26 to June 5, 2024: storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding across 83 counties, including Harris.
• July 2024: Hurricane Beryl, 67 counties. TWIA alone received more than 33,000 Beryl claims, with losses estimated at $545 million.
• July 2025: the Hill Country floods, 23 counties including Kerr, Kendall and Travis.

Premiums followed. TDI's market data show homeowners premiums (including renters) rose from $10.55 billion in 2020 to $19.75 billion in 2025, and the line's incurred loss ratio topped 100% in 2021. The trend has turned: most insurers filing since July 1, 2026 proposed decreases affecting about 700,000 policyholders, and filings over the prior 90 days averaged a 4.3% cut, including 5.2% for 133,000 Texas Farm Bureau customers, TDI said on October 7, 2026.

Regulators are also changing the rules. Commissioner Amanda Crawford took office in February 2026. After Gov. Greg Abbott's August 2026 directive, TDI issued Bulletin B-0008-26 urging mitigation discounts, proposed clarifying that insurers cannot decline or nonrenew a home solely because the house or roof is old, and launched a ZIP-code tool showing why policies are declined, canceled or nonrenewed, using data required by House Bill 2067 (2025).

Deductibles and coverage rules to know

Texas has no hurricane-specific deductible. A separate wind/hail deductible, if your policy has one, applies to every windstorm or hail loss and may be a percentage of the dwelling limit. TDI's example: on a home insured for $150,000, a 5% deductible is $7,500, so a $6,500 hail repair pays nothing. Run your own numbers with the hurricane and percentage deductible calculator, and see wind and hail deductibles explained and hail damage claims: roofs, siding and windows.

On the coast your homeowners policy may exclude wind and hail entirely, leaving a separate TWIA policy to cover them; TWIA deductibles are $100, $250 or 1%, with optional 1.5% to 5%.

Texas renewal and cancellation rules give homeowners specific protections:

• 60 days' notice of nonrenewal for policies bought or renewed since 2024, up from 30 (Tex. Ins. Code §551.105, HB 1900 of 2023). The insurer must give the reason if you ask.
• Claims from natural causes, and claims that were not paid, cannot count toward the three-claims-in-three-years nonrenewal rule, and after two claims the insurer must warn you before a third can be used (§551.107).
• Cancellation after 60 days is allowed only for nonpayment, fraud, a legal violation or an increase in hazard within your control, with 10 days' notice (§551.104).
• Voluntary Inspection Program. A TDI-listed inspector can issue a certificate of insurability good for three years; an insurer may then refuse coverage because of the home's condition only after reinspecting and describing the problems in writing. The 2026 inspection fee is capped at $159.29.

Flood and other gaps

Homeowners and TWIA policies exclude flood and storm surge. FEMA counted 555,569 NFIP policies in force in Texas on September 30, 2026, the second most of any state but down 8% from 603,939 a year earlier. TDI notes that more than half of the homes flooded by Hurricane Harvey were outside designated flood zones, and NFIP policies generally take 30 days to start. See NFIP flood insurance explained.

If you can't find coverage

Texas has two residual market plans, profiled together at Texas FAIR Plan and Texas Windstorm Insurance Association:

• Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA) sells named-perils homeowners, dwelling, condo and tenant policies statewide to owners turned down by at least two insurers. Dwelling limits go up to $1 million, and claims settle at actual cash value unless you buy the replacement cost option. It insured 118,486 properties on June 30, 2026, up from 61,452 in 2022; Harris County alone accounts for 58,464.
• Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) sells wind and hail coverage only in Aransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Galveston, Jefferson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio and Willacy counties and the Harris County cities east of State Highway 146. You need one declination, a windstorm certificate of compliance for the building, and flood coverage for newer homes in V zones. TWIA had 288,676 policies on June 30, 2026. Under HB 3689 (2025), losses after 2025 beyond its reserves are funded by up to $1 billion in state financing, repaid through a statewide surcharge on most property policies, and then up to $1 billion of insurer assessments. It has $4.3 billion available for the 2026 season.

Both plans stop taking new applications when a hurricane enters the Gulf. Surplus lines insurers are the other route. See TWIA and the Texas FAIR Plan: what each covers and when you need them and surplus lines home insurance when standard carriers say no.

Claims rules and deadlines

Texas' prompt payment law (Tex. Ins. Code ch. 542) sets these clocks:

• 15 days after notice to acknowledge the claim, start investigating and request what the insurer needs.
• 15 business days after receiving everything to accept or reject in writing, or up to 45 more days if it explains why.
• 5 business days to pay after agreeing to.
• 15 extra days on all deadlines after a weather catastrophe declared by the commissioner.

An insurer that pays late owes 18% annual interest plus attorney's fees; in weather suits under chapter 542A, interest is instead tied to the judgment rate. Before suing over storm damage you must give 61 days' written notice, and no policy can give you less than two years to sue. TWIA is different: report within one year, TWIA decides within 60 days and pays within 10, and a denial must be challenged in court within two years. See how long insurers have to pay a home claim.

Discounts and mitigation programs

Texas has no state roof grant program; HB 1576 (2025), which would have created a windstorm mitigation grant program, passed the House and stalled in a Senate committee. Discounts for impact-resistant roofs are set company by company, with a Class 4 roof earning the largest credit, TDI says. TWIA credits homes built to its windstorm codes 19% to 33% and gives credits for opening protection and labeled impact-resistant roofing.

Where to get help

Call the TDI Help Line at 800-252-3439, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central, or file a complaint online. TDI is at 1601 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701 (P.O. Box 12030, Austin, TX 78711). For TWIA claim problems, TDI's coastal outreach team answers at 855-352-6278. The separate Office of Public Insurance Counsel is the state agency that represents consumers' interests in insurance matters, including rate hearings. See how to file a complaint with your state insurance department, the nonrenewal action plan and texas homeowners insurance: hail, wind and rates. Neighbors Louisiana and Oklahoma share Texas' storm exposure.