What Dallas and Houston Homeowners Should Know About Home Insurance in Texas
Owning a home in Texas comes with plenty of perks. It also comes with weather that can put your insurance policy to the test.
Dallas homeowners deal with hail, wind, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes. Houston homeowners have many of those same concerns, with flooding, hurricanes, and tropical storms added to the mix. And across Texas, homeowners need to think about everything from roof coverage and water damage to deductibles and the cost of rebuilding.
The important thing is not simply having homeowners insurance. It is understanding what your policy actually covers before you need to use it.
Here is what homeowners in Dallas and Houston should know.
Home Insurance in Dallas
If you own a home in Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Arlington, or the surrounding area, your roof deserves particular attention.
Texas weather can be tough on roofs, and insurance companies do not all handle roof claims the same way. Some policies provide replacement cost coverage, which generally pays based on the current cost of repairing or replacing covered damage. Others use actual cash value, which accounts for depreciation and can result in a significantly smaller payment for an older roof. Texas Department of Insurance
That distinction can make a major difference after a hail or windstorm.
When reviewing a Dallas homeowners policy, ask:
Is my roof covered at replacement cost or actual cash value?
Also look carefully at your deductible. Texas policies can have different deductibles for different types of losses, and wind or hail deductibles may be higher than the deductible that applies to other claims. Percentage-based deductibles can also translate into substantial out-of-pocket costs. Texas Department of Insurance
For example, a 2% deductible on a home insured for $400,000 equals $8,000. Knowing that before a storm is much better than discovering it while filing a claim.
Home Insurance in Houston
Houston homeowners face another major consideration: flooding.
This is one of the most important things to understand about homeowners insurance in Texas. Most standard home insurance policies do not cover flood damage. Flood insurance is generally purchased separately, either through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer. Texas Department of Insurance
And living outside a designated high-risk flood zone does not mean you can ignore the risk. The Texas Department of Insurance notes that more than half of the homes flooded during Hurricane Harvey were outside designated flood zones. Texas Department of Insurance
Houston-area homeowners should also understand how their policy handles hurricanes, tropical storms, wind, and hail.
For properties along the Texas coast and certain areas around Galveston Bay, a standard homeowners policy may exclude wind and hail. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, or TWIA, provides wind and hail coverage for eligible properties in designated coastal catastrophe areas. Texas Department of Insurance
The lesson is simple: don't assume that homeowners, wind, and flood coverage are all the same thing. Depending on where your home is located, you may need more than one policy.
Your Roof Matters More Than You Might Think
Whether you live in Dallas or Houston, the age and condition of your roof can affect both your coverage and what happens when you file a claim.
As roofs age, some insurers may change them from replacement cost coverage to actual cash value coverage. A company may also limit or decline roof coverage if the roof is in poor condition. Texas Department of Insurance
When buying or renewing a policy, check that your insurer has the correct roof age and material on file. If you replace your roof, tell your insurance company.
It is also worth asking whether impact-resistant or other storm-resistant roofing materials qualify for a discount. Some Texas insurers offer discounts for roofing materials designed to better withstand wind, hail, or fire. Texas Department of Insurance
Don't Confuse Your Home's Value With Its Rebuilding Cost
Your dwelling coverage is not supposed to reflect what you paid for your house or necessarily what Zillow says it is worth today.
Instead, it should account for what it could cost to rebuild the home after a covered loss.
Those can be very different numbers.
Your home's market value includes factors like the land, neighborhood, school district, and local housing market. Rebuilding costs are driven by construction materials, labor, square footage, finishes, and other characteristics of the structure itself.
When reviewing your policy, make sure the information your insurer is using about your house is accurate, including its size, construction type, and roof. Texas Department of Insurance
Don't Forget About Your Stuff
Your house is only part of what your homeowners policy protects.
Personal property coverage can help replace belongings damaged or destroyed by a covered loss. Think furniture, clothing, electronics, appliances, and everything else you have accumulated over the years.
This is also a good reason to create a home inventory. Take photos or videos of the rooms in your house and keep records for expensive purchases. You do not want to reconstruct a list of everything you owned from memory after a major loss.
What Happens If You Can't Live in Your House?
This is where additional living expense, sometimes called loss-of-use coverage, becomes important.
If a covered event makes your home temporarily uninhabitable, this coverage can help with the additional costs of living somewhere else, including temporary housing, meals, and certain other expenses. The amount available is limited by your policy, so it is worth knowing your limit before you need it. Texas Department of Insurance
Remember that the underlying cause of the damage matters. If your homeowners policy does not cover the event that forced you from your home, the additional living expense portion of that policy generally will not suddenly make that loss covered.
What About Liability Coverage?
Homeowners insurance is not only about repairing your house.
Personal liability coverage can help if you are legally responsible for injuring someone or damaging someone else's property. It may also help cover legal expenses if you are sued over a covered incident. Texas Department of Insurance
If the liability limit included with your homeowners policy is not enough for your needs, you can also ask about an umbrella policy, which can provide additional liability protection. Texas Department of Insurance
How to Shop for Home Insurance in Texas
Price matters, but the cheapest policy is not necessarily the best deal.
Two policies with very different coverage can produce very different premiums. Before comparing prices, make sure you are comparing similar deductibles, dwelling limits, roof coverage, personal property coverage, and endorsements.
A few things are particularly worth checking:
Whether your roof is replacement cost or actual cash value
Your wind and hail deductible
Your dwelling coverage
Your personal property coverage
Your additional living expense limit
Water-related exclusions or limitations
Whether you need separate flood coverage
Whether coastal wind and hail coverage needs to be purchased separately
Then shop around.
Texas insurance policies and prices can change, so renewal time is a good opportunity to look at your policy again rather than automatically paying the new premium. The Texas Department of Insurance specifically recommends checking renewal documents for changes to roof coverage, deductibles, and information about your home. Texas Department of Insurance
The Hey Charley Takeaway
Dallas and Houston homeowners may live only a few hours apart, but their insurance concerns can look very different.
In Dallas, pay particularly close attention to your roof, hail and wind coverage, and deductibles. In Houston, add flood insurance and coastal wind considerations to the list.
Wherever you live, the best time to understand your homeowners insurance is before the storm, freeze, fire, or burst pipe happens.
Pull out your declarations page. Look at your deductibles. Check how your roof is covered. Find out whether you have flood insurance. And if something does not make sense, ask.
Insurance doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes you just need someone to explain what all those pages actually mean.