A homeowners policy is the one people buy because the mortgage company made them, file away, and never read — until a hailstorm takes the roof off. In Texas that is not hypothetical; hail and wind drive more claims here than anywhere else in the country. Here is what the policy actually covers, what it does not, and the two exclusions that catch Texans every year.
🏠 What a Homeowners Policy Covers
A standard policy is six coverages in one document:
- 🏡 Dwelling (Coverage A) — the house itself: structure, roof, built-in systems. This should equal what it would cost to rebuild, not what you paid or what Zillow says.
- 🚧 Other Structures (B) — detached garage, shop, fence, barn. Usually about 10% of the dwelling amount.
- 🛋 Personal Property (C) — your belongings. Typically 50–70% of the dwelling amount.
- 🏨 Loss of Use (D) — hotel and meals while the house is being repaired.
- ⚖️ Personal Liability (E) — someone is injured on your property, or you damage someone else's. Also covers you away from home.
- 🩹 Medical Payments (F) — small medical bills for a guest, no fault required.
🌪 The Texas Part: Wind, Hail and Your Roof
Two things on a Texas policy deserve real attention.
The separate wind/hail deductible
Most Texas policies carry a percentage deductible for wind and hail — commonly 1% or 2% of the dwelling amount — instead of the flat dollar deductible that applies to everything else. On a $300,000 home, a 2% wind/hail deductible is $6,000 out of pocket before the carrier pays anything. Check which one your policy uses; people are surprised at the worst possible moment.
Replacement cost vs. actual cash value on the roof
An ACV roof settlement subtracts depreciation for age. A fifteen-year-old roof may be worth a fraction of what a new one costs, and you pay the rest. Replacement cost pays to put a new roof on. Carriers have moved a lot of Texas policies to ACV roofs quietly at renewal — it is worth knowing which one you have before the storm, not after.
🚫 What Is Not Covered
- 🌊 Flood — never. No homeowners policy covers rising water. Flood is a separate policy through the NFIP or a private carrier, and there is normally a 30-day wait before it takes effect, so it cannot be bought when a storm is coming.
- 🌎 Earthquake — excluded, and relevant in parts of Texas with injection-well activity.
- 🐜 Wear, rot, termites, and neglect — insurance pays for sudden accidental damage, not deferred maintenance.
- 💧 Long-term leaks — a pipe that bursts is covered; a pipe that has been seeping behind a wall for months usually is not.
- 💍 High-value items above the sub-limit — jewelry, guns, tools and cameras have internal caps, often $1,500. Schedule them individually to insure them fully.
🔑 Renters Insurance
If you rent, your landlord's policy covers the building, not your things and not your liability. Renters insurance covers both, plus hotel costs if the unit becomes unlivable — and it is one of the cheapest policies sold. If a kitchen fire starts in your apartment and spreads, the liability portion is what stands between you and the damage to every other unit.
💡 Getting the Numbers Right
- 📏 Insure to rebuild, not to market. Construction cost and home value are different numbers and move differently.
- 📈 Revisit it after materials prices move. A policy written five years ago may not rebuild the same house today.
- 📷 Photograph every room and keep it off-site. Proving what you owned is the hardest part of a total loss.
- 🏡 Bundle. Home and auto with the same carrier almost always discounts both.
- 🧾 Read the wind/hail deductible and the roof settlement at every renewal. Those two lines decide what a Texas claim actually pays.
📞 We Write This Too
Most of our clients came to us for the truck and did not know we handle the house. We write homeowners and renters with the same carriers and the same attention, in English and Spanish.
Call (469) 739-6335 or start online and a licensed agent will review what you have now, line by line.