Homeowners insurance for Texas

When you get a House & Property policy, you get coverage for:

• Your dwelling.
• Other structures on your property.
• Your personal belongings.

If you live in the home you’re insuring, your House & Property policy also covers:

• Personal liability in case you’re responsible for someone else’s injury or property damage. (This coverage is not available if you live somewhere other than the home you’re insuring.)
• Your additional living expenses if a covered claim renders your home uninhabitable.
• Your guests’ immediate medical bills if they’re injured on your property.

But if you rent the home to others, you get rental income coverage so you’re protected if damage from a covered claim makes the home uninhabitable. Landlords can also get an endorsement that adds premises liability coverage to their policy to protect them if someone is injured on the property.

These policies cover your home and other structures for common perils that put it at risk, including fire, wind, hail, burst pipes, and theft. Moreover, this Texas homeowners insurance is written on an open perils basis, so events are only excluded if they’re explicitly mentioned in the policy.

Your personal property is insured on a named-peril basis. This means it’s covered for damage caused by any one of 16 perils specifically listed in the policy. These named perils still represent some of the most common home insurance claims, but you can upgrade your personal property coverage to open perils.

The average cost of Texas homeowners insurance is $2,146 per year. In 2022, the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) approved rate increases averaging 11%. Approved rate increases in 2023 averaged 22% – twice the national average.

But remember – that’s just a statewide average. Your premium may be higher or lower depending on several factors, such as:

• Your home’s age and building materials.
• Your roof’s age.
• Your location.
• The deductibles you select.

Texas law does not require you to get homeowners insurance, but your mortgage company might. Lenders often mandate insurance in order to protect their financial investment.

Moreover, you may find yourself in situations where your mortgage company requires other types of coverage, namely:

• Flood insurance. Lenders who offer federally backed mortgages have to require flood insurance in certain flood zones. Unfortunately, we do not currently offer flood insurance in Texas.
• Windstorm insurance. Some insurers exclude windstorms from coverage in the counties that have the highest risk. When they do, mortgage lenders often require homeowners to buy this additional coverage.

When you work with us, you won’t need additional windstorm insurance. Our carrier partner covers wind damage in every county in Texas. Good thing, too, considering the top risks Texas homeowners face.

Texas’ size is one of the reasons for its high home insurance premiums. The Lone Star State spreads out over several climate zones, so while coastal counties worry about hurricanes, others have to deal with thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hail. Texas can even see brutal winter temperatures that cause rolling power outages.

Some of the biggest risks for Texas homeowners are:

• Hurricanes. Hurricanes and tropical storms blowing can wreak havoc on homes along the Gulf of Mexico.
• Hail. Hail storms can also cause significant property damage.
• Tornadoes. Areas of Texas sit in what’s known as Tornado Alley, so it’s hardly surprising that Texas homeowners face tornado risk.

You can choose from several endorsements that provide additional coverage, including:

• Specified additional amount of insurance Coverage A. This endorsement provides additional coverage if circumstances cause the cost of rebuilding your home to go beyond your dwelling coverage limit.
• Loss assessment coverage. You may want this endorsement if you’re subject to a homeowners association (HOA). It can offset the cost of a special assessment if a covered peril causes damage to shared property.
• Ordinance or law coverage. After a loss, an ordinance or law endorsement helps you cover the cost of upgrades you need to make to your home to meet new building codes.
• Special personal property coverage. This endorsement increases most of the sublimits on your personal belongings (i.e., everything that you would expect to take with you if you moved out) and reduces the number of exclusions that usually apply to damages.

Another option? Getting our Signature Coverage Collection It packages all of these coverages and more into one easy bundle.