STATE MARKETS: TEXAS

Texas windstorm coverage and TWIA: who needs it and how to buy it

If you own a home in one of Texas's 14 first-tier coastal counties, or in the part of Harris County east of Highway 146, your homeowners policy probably excludes wind and hail. The Texas Department of Insurance says most Gulf Coast policies do. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, TWIA, sells that missing coverage as the insurer of last resort, through licensed agents. Eligibility turns on four things: a declination from an authorized insurer, a windstorm certificate for the structure, proof of flood insurance in some zones, and buying before a hurricane is in the Gulf, when TWIA stops selling.

Information about TWIA's published rules, checked against TWIA and the Texas Department of Insurance. It is not insurance advice and not a quote. TWIA's plan of operation and your policy control; TWIA covers wind and hail only, and flood is a separate policy.

The three-policy coastal house

Inland, one homeowners policy usually covers the big perils together. On the Texas coast, the same protection is often split across three policies from three different sources. Getting a coastal house properly insured means knowing which policy answers which loss.

A hurricane can touch all three. Wind tears off part of the roof, rain enters through the opening, surge floods the ground floor. The wind policy, the flood policy and possibly the homeowners policy each look at the part of the loss that belongs to them. A gap in any one of them becomes your bill.

Eligibility, as a checklist

TWIA publishes its eligibility rules. Work through them in order; each one is a condition, and missing any of them blocks a policy.

The flood row deserves a second look because its date matters. A house in a V zone built before September 1, 2009 and never altered since may not need to show flood proof to TWIA, but the same house remodeled or enlarged after that date does. Even where TWIA does not require it, flood is the peril TWIA never covers.

The windstorm certificate: the document most often missing

Texas law, in chapter 2210 of the Insurance Code, requires coastal property to be certified for windstorm building code compliance, and TWIA says the certificate must be provided before the property can be eligible. The certificate is not only for new houses. TWIA lists improvements that need certification: new structures, additions, windows, entry and garage doors, patio covers, decks, significant roof replacement or repair, and significant re-siding. Painting, carpeting, plumbing and electrical repairs, fence repair, gutter work and temporary storm repairs do not need certification.

TDI administers the Windstorm Inspection Program and has issued all certificates since June 1, 2020. It publishes a list of appointed inspectors and a search for existing WPI-8 and WPI-8-E certificates, and TWIA keeps a lookup for older certificates. Without a certificate, TWIA says it lacks evidence that the structure meets the code and the property may be considered uninsurable.

There are two exceptions. Residential properties built from 1988 to June 18, 2009 that are not certified may still be eligible, but pay a 15 percent surcharge on the premium. And residential properties insured on or after June 19, 2009 by a private insurer that later non-renewed or canceled while a required WPI-8 was missing may be eligible. Both are narrow; ask your agent whether either fits before assuming it does.

The practical rule: if you are replacing a roof, windows or doors on a coastal house, arrange the windstorm inspection with the contractor before work starts. Certifying finished work after the fact is possible through WPI-8-E, but it is easier to inspect during construction than to prove compliance once the walls are closed.

Timing: two clocks that run before the storm

Coastal coverage has to be bought ahead of time, and two separate clocks make that unavoidable.

• The hurricane cutoff. TDI's home insurance guide warns: TWIA won't sell a policy while a hurricane is in the Gulf of Mexico. TWIA has announced such moratoriums in past seasons. Once a storm is in the Gulf, an uninsured coastal house stays uninsured for wind until the moratorium lifts. Buyers caught by one before closing can follow the steps in our guide to a hurricane binding moratorium before a home closing.
• The flood waiting period. FEMA says an NFIP policy typically has a 30-day waiting period before it takes effect, with exceptions such as coverage a lender requires. Where TWIA needs flood proof first, the flood clock runs before the wind application can be completed.

Put together, a homeowner who decides in August to insure a V-zone house for wind may need flood coverage bought, a certificate located and a declination documented before TWIA will bind, all before any storm enters the Gulf. Start in the spring.

What TWIA covers, and what it leaves out

TWIA's own policy explainer is direct: TWIA policies cover only windstorm and hail damage, and by law no other perils, such as fire or theft, are covered. TWIA policies do not cover flood damage. TWIA writes residential policies on dwellings, personal property and manufactured homes, and lists townhouses and condominiums under its commercial category. The policyholder chooses the deductible, which TWIA calls the choice with the biggest impact on premium.

For cost context only, TWIA states that the average residential policy premium is approximately $1,700 per year. That is TWIA's average across its residential policies, not a quote and not an estimate for your house. Your premium depends on the limits, the deductible, the structure and its location.

A wind deductible can be large compared with a typical all-perils deductible, and the arithmetic matters most for wind because a hurricane can produce one very large loss. Our percentage deductible guide shows how a deductible set as a share of the dwelling limit compares with a flat one, and the same reasoning applies when choosing a TWIA deductible.

A worked hurricane loss across three policies

This is a labeled illustration with stated inputs, not a reported claim. It shows how one storm divides between policies.

• The homeowners policy excludes windstorm and hail. TWIA insures the dwelling for wind and hail with a deductible the owner chose, here $5,000. An NFIP policy insures the building for flood with a $2,000 deductible.
• Wind damages the roof and two windows: repair estimate $38,000.
• Rain enters through the wind opening and damages ceilings and drywall upstairs: $9,000.
• Storm surge floods the ground floor: $52,000.
• A separate kitchen fire weeks later while repairs are under way: $6,000, with a $1,000 homeowners deductible.

The example assumes the rain damage is treated as part of the wind loss because it entered through a wind-created opening; how a policy handles rain is a question to ask TWIA about your own form. The larger lesson is in the surge row. Without a flood policy, $52,000 of the loss would be uninsured, even with both the homeowners and TWIA policies in force. When a single storm produces both wind and water damage, each insurer will look closely at which damage it caused, so dated photos taken before cleanup protect all three claims.

Claims: deadlines and how they differ

TWIA claims follow their own timeline, which TDI and TWIA publish.

TDI's guidance on the first days after damage applies to TWIA claims too: make only temporary repairs such as tarping, photograph the damage first, keep receipts, and do not make permanent repairs before the adjuster has seen the damage. Disputes about the amount can go to appraisal, which TDI describes as each side hiring an appraiser and an umpire deciding where they disagree. Our hail and roof claim guide covers the roof terms that decide wind and hail payments, and our claim filing guide sets out the documentation in order. You can contact TWIA at 800-788-8247 and TDI's help line at 800-252-3439.

Depopulation offers at renewal

TWIA operates programs, authorized by 2015 state law, that offer policyholders alternative wind and hail coverage in the private market. Under the voluntary market depopulation program, offers are made on an ongoing basis at renewal, and TWIA says the policyholder and agent may accept or reject any offer. If you receive one, compare it with your TWIA terms line by line: the limit, the deductible, the settlement basis, the claim deadlines, and the insurer's licensing status. A different insurer may be a good fit or a narrower one. The decision is yours, and there is no requirement to accept.

Documents to gather before you call an agent

A TWIA application moves faster when the facts it depends on are already in hand. Collect these first.

A renewal-season routine for coastal homes

Coastal coverage is three policies with three renewal dates, three deductibles and three claim processes. A short routine each spring keeps them aligned.

1. Put the homeowners, TWIA and flood declarations pages side by side. Check that the dwelling limits make sense together and that no policy has lapsed.
2. Re-read the deductibles. Know in dollars what you would pay on a wind claim and on a flood claim.
3. List every improvement made since last spring. Confirm each one that needed a windstorm certificate has one.
4. Check whether a depopulation offer arrived with the TWIA renewal, and compare it line by line before deciding.
5. Store copies of all three policies, the certificates and a home inventory somewhere you can reach if you have to evacuate.

The routine takes an hour. Doing it in March rather than August means nothing has to be bought while a storm is forming, which is the one moment TWIA will not sell.

Questions to ask the agent about a TWIA quote

• Which deductible options are available, and what would each cost me in dollars on a wind claim?
• Are the dwelling and contents limits on the TWIA quote matched to the limits on my homeowners policy?
• Does the quote include any surcharge, such as the 15 percent surcharge for uncertified homes built from 1988 to June 18, 2009?
• What does the policy say about rain that enters through an opening the wind created?
• What payment plans are available, and when does coverage start relative to payment?
• If a depopulation offer arrives at renewal, how will you compare it with my TWIA terms?

Write the answers next to the quote. They are the facts that decide whether a wind claim after the next storm pays what you expect.

Coastal situations that change the answer

• Unrepaired damage from an earlier storm. TWIA requires insurable condition. Fix it, document it, then apply or renew.
• A new roof without a certificate. Significant roof replacement needs certification. Ask whether a WPI-8-E for completed work is possible before you assume eligibility.
• Condos and townhouses. TWIA lists these under commercial coverage, which affects how the association's building policy and the unit owner's coverage are arranged.
• Inland Harris County. Only the part of Harris County east of Highway 146 is in the designated area. The rest of the county is outside the TWIA area, so wind coverage there has to come from the private market.
• Mortgage requirements. If your lender requires windstorm coverage, a lapse can lead to lender-placed coverage. Send the TWIA declarations page to the servicer each year.

Questions coastal homeowners ask

Before the next season starts, compare your homeowners, TWIA and flood declarations against each other on one table. The Texas homeowners insurance cost page shows where the state's published average sits, and the catastrophe and market guides cover what to do if the private market declines your house altogether.