Texas Department of Insurance

Insurance & HMOs


You are here: 

Thunderstorms, Wind, and Hail Storm Resource Page

Home Page | News Releases | Helpful Publications | TDI's Role in a Disaster | Contact TDI | Prevent Insurance Fraud | File an Insurance Complaint

Texas' warm and humid spring and summer months are favorable for thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are considered an underrated threat because they occur approximately 100,000 times each year and are relatively short, at an average of 30 minutes. Although common and brief, the lightning that accompanies these storms is unpredictable and dangerous. Texans should be prepared for thunderstorms, lightning, and hail, especially during the warm and humid summers when conditions are favorable for development.

Insurance Tips | General Tips | Repairing Your Home | Contact TDI | Windstorm Coverage | Shopping for Insurance | Having Trouble Finding Insurance?

Current Conditions, Information, and Resources

Insurance Tips   

  • Keep an inventory. Fill out TDI's Home Inventory Checklist (PDF) that you can print or save to a disk and keep somewhere secure. Consider e-mailing it to yourself to ensure you'll have it wherever you are. Also take photos or videotape of each room and the exterior of your home to keep with your inventory.
  • Gather important documents and insurance cards and policies. Unless they are stored in a safe place, take health insurance cards; auto and home insurance policies; and an inventory of your possessions, including receipts and photos or videos.
  • Know what your policy covers. Make certain your homeowners or commercial property coverage is still in force and that it provides adequate coverage to pay the full replacement cost of your property. Check your auto policy to see if you have comprehensive coverage "other than collision." Comprehensive coverage pays if a storm, fire, or flood damages your car. Find out how much coverage you have for "additional living expenses" to cover lodging, food, and other expenses if you're forced to vacate your residence after suffering a covered loss.
  • Know your policy limits. Contact your agent and check the limits of your policies. For homeowners policies, ask about limits for contents and buildings. Your limits may be too low if replacement costs have risen because of new additions, improvements, or inflation.
  • Review your health coverage. Find out if you'll be able to receive non-emergency care from out-of-network providers, if needed, without accruing additional out-of-pocket costs.
  • Consider renters insurance if you don't have it. A landlord's insurance policy usually covers the house or building, but not the personal property of the building's tenants. If you rent an apartment, duplex, house, or townhouse, you may need renters insurance to protect your belongings.
  • Consider business interruption coverage. Business interruption coverage compensates you for lost income and certain operating expenses if you are forced to vacate your business because of a loss covered in your policy.
  • Consider alternative storing methods for company files. Important documents can be scanned and stored in a safe location. Also consider taking photos of office equipment and furniture.
  • Consider purchasing flood and wind and hail coverage. You may have to buy separate policies to cover wind, hail, and flood damage. Homeowners, farm and ranch, renters, windstorm, and condominium policies do not cover damage from rising waters. Use the "One-Step Flood Risk Profile" feature on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) website to determine your relative flood risk. Use the Homeowners, Flood, and Windstorm Policies Comparison chart to see the differences between homeowners, flood, and wind and hail insurance.

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

Homeowners and commercial property policies specifically exclude coverage for damage from flooding from rising waters. To protect yourself from losses caused by most flooding, you'll need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) administered by FEMA. Flood insurance policies have a 30-day waiting period after the purchase date before coverage takes effect, so if you do not have a policy, you should obtain one as soon as possible. For more information about flood insurance, contact the NFIP

1-888-FLOOD 29 (356-6329)
www.floodsmart.gov

  • NFIP Summary of Coverage (PDF)
  • Texas Flood Fact Sheet (PDF)

Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA)

If your property is located in one of Texas' 14 coastal counties, or parts of southeastern Harris County, you will likely only be able to obtain insurance coverage for windstorm or hail damage from a special insurance pool called the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA.) To qualify for TWIA coverage, your property must pass a windstorm inspection and must meet certain windstorm-resistant building standards. You cannot buy or change TWIA coverage once a hurricane has entered the Gulf of Mexico. For more information about windstorm coverage call TWIA or visit its website

1-800-788-8247
www.twia.org

Your options if you disagree with the TWIA claim settlement amount (PDF)

List of insurance companies writing residential property insurance along the Gulf Coast
List of companies writing commercial property insurance along the Gulf Coast

Flood insurance requirement. Certain Gulf Coast residents may be required to purchase flood insurance on their property before they are eligible for a TWIA policy. The requirement applies to you if:

  • you constructed, altered, remodeled, or enlarged your property (to the extent that a certificate of compliance is required) on or after September 1, 2009;
  • any part of the property is located in flood zones V, VE, or V1-V30 as defined by NFIP; and
  • flood coverage is available from the NFIP.

Note: Property repairs are excluded from the requirement. Repair is defined as the reconstruction or restoration of a structure that is damaged or deteriorated.

To view flood maps, visit FEMA’s website at www.fema.gov.

Windstorm insurance inspections. New structures, alterations, additions, or repairs to existing structures, including re-roofs or roof repairs must be inspected by a TDI inspector or an engineer who has been appointed by the Commissioner of Insurance. There is no fee for any inspection conducted by TDI. All inspections must be made during the construction phase. For questions or to find out if your home was previously inspected, contact your agent or TDI’s Windstorm Inspection Division at 1-800-248-6032.

General Tips   

  • Protect your property. If a thunderstorm warning is issued, and you have time, take appropriate precautions:
    • Buy emergency repair items. These include masking tape, lumber, plastic sheeting, sandbags and sand. Keep all receipts for insurance or tax purposes.
    • Protect large windows with storm shutters or plywood panels; use tape on small windows.
    • Move valuables away from windows and, if possible, to an upper floor.
    • Brace garage doors, move loose items indoors and secure television antennas.
    • Trim back any dead wood from trees. This will reduce the amount of wind stress on trees and eliminate potential damage from falling limbs.
    • Move cars, boats, and trailers to garages or warehouses or tie down boats and trailers next to house.
    • Check and strengthen mooring lines of boats still in water.
    • Check your tie-downs if you live in a mobile home.
  • Prepare to be without electricity. Stock up on canned goods and bottled water, check supplies of medicines and first-aid equipment, and check batteries in radios and flashlights.
  • Keep emergency phone numbers handy.
  • Check for weather bulletins. When a storm watch is issued for your area – an alert that a storm has not yet hit, but conditions are likely in the days or hours ahead – regularly check TV and radio for official bulletins.
  • Remember the 30/30 lightning safety rule. Go indoors if you cannot count to 30 before hearing thunder immediately after seeing lightning. Stay indoors for 30 minutes after hearing the last clap of thunder.
  • Know the danger signs of an approaching storm. Signs include dark and often greenish sky, large hail, large, dark and low-lying cloud, and a loud roar, similar to a freight train. If you see approaching storms or any of the danger signs, be prepared to take shelter immediately.
  • Bring pets indoors. Pets often become distressed during storms and tend to run away in panic.
  • Get inside a home, building, or hard top automobile. Although you may be injured if lightning strikes your car, you are much safer inside a vehicle than outside. Remember, rubber-soled shoes and rubber tires don't provide protection from lightning.
  • Avoid showering or bathing. Plumbing and bathroom fixtures can conduct electricity.
  • Use a corded telephone only for emergencies. Cordless and cellular telephones are safe to use.
  • Unplug appliances and other electrical items such as computers and turn off air conditioners. Power surges from lightning can cause serious damage.
  • Avoid natural lightning rods such as a tall, isolated trees in an open area, hilltops, open fields, beaches, sheds or other small structures, and anything metal.
  • If you're in the open, prepare for a strike. If you feel your hair stand on end -- which means lightning is about to strike -- squat to the ground on the balls of your feet, place your hands over your ears and your head between your knees, and make yourself the smallest target possible while minimizing your contact to the ground. Do not lie on the ground.

Repairing Your Home   

  • Try to be present when the insurance company's adjuster inspects your damage. Be sure your address is visible. If damage forces you to move, leave a note or a plywood sign with your temporary address, phone number and name of your insurance company.
  • Resolving your claim. Your insurance company must acknowledge that it has begun an investigation within 15 days of receiving your claim. The company may request additional information to settle your claim. Once it has that information, the company must accept or reject your claim within 15 business days or tell you why it needs more time. If the Commissioner of Insurance designates the event as a major catastrophe, the claim handling deadlines are extended for an additional 15 days. Once a settlement is reached, the company has five business days to mail you a check. If you do not receive your payment promptly, call your agent.
  • Work with reputable contractors. Ask contractors for references and verify them. Contact your Better Business Bureau, local police, or chamber of commerce for information. Insist on an itemized contract in writing and pay only as work is completed. The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act prohibits price gouging once the governor has declared an area a disaster area. Call the Office of the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hot Line, 1-800-337-3928, if you suspect price gouging or any other deceptive business practice.

Contact TDI   

For answers to general insurance questions or for information on filing an insurance-related complaint, visit our website or call the Consumer Help Line between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Central time, Monday-Friday

www.tdi.state.tx.us
1-800-252-3439
463-6515 in Austin

Windstorm Coverage   

Some insurance companies provide wind and hail coverage, while others do not. If your company has excluded wind and hail coverage from your policy, shop around. You may be able to find another company that offers wind and hail coverage in your area. If you can't find a company providing the coverage, ask your insurance agent about purchasing insurance from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). TWIA is the state’s insurer of last resort for wind and hail coverage when homeowners and business owners are denied coverage in the 14 coastal counties and parts of Harris County on Galveston Bay.

TWIA Structure Eligibility Requirements

  • Located in TWIA’s coverage territory. TWIA’s coverage territory includes Aransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Galveston, Jefferson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, and Willacy counties; and the following communities east of State Highway 146 in Harris County: Pasadena, Morgan's Point, Shoreacres, Seabrook and La Porte.
  • Meet Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) building specifications. New structures, alterations, additions, or repairs to existing structures, including re-roofs or roof repairs must be inspected by a TDI inspector or an engineer who has been appointed by the Commissioner of Insurance. There is no fee for any inspection conducted by TDI. All inspections must be made during the construction phase. For questions or to find out if your home was previously inspected, contact your agent or TDI's Windstorm Inspection Division at 1-800-248-6032.

Shopping for Insurance   

  • Use an insurance agent to help you shop. Some agents represent only a single company or company group. Independent agents may represent several companies. Including independent agents in your search can help you get quotes from multiple companies with a single call. To find an agent near you, use your local yellow pages or visit www.helpinsure.com, a free service of the state and TDI that helps people shop for homeowners insurance.
  • Make sure your insurance agent and company are licensed. To verify whether an agent or company is licensed, call our Consumer Help Line or use the Agent and Insurer Search features on our website.
  • Use TDI’s Homeowners Insurance Price Comparisons. The price comparisons list most companies writing homeowners insurance in your area and provide contact information and premium estimates. Call our Consumer Help Line for a free copy of the price comparison for your area or view the price comparisons on our website at www.helpinsure.com
  • Understand homeowners policy types and coverages. Insurance companies may sell several types of homeowners policies in Texas, each with a different level of coverage. Make sure you compare policies with similar coverages. Visit the Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel (OPIC) website, www.opic.state.tx.us, to compare coverages for policies sold in Texas.
  • Decide whether you need other coverages. Homeowners policies do not cover damage caused by rising waters. You can buy a separate policy to cover most types of flooding from the National Flood Insurance Program. Call NFIP at 1-800-427-4661 or visit its website, www.floodsmart.gov.
  • Consider factors other than price. A company’s complaint history and financial rating can indicate the level of service you will receive. Call our Consumer Help Line or use the Insurer Search feature on our website.
  • Ask about payment options. Some insurance companies offer payment plans that allow you to pay your premium in installments. For example, you may be able to make monthly payments, rather than paying your entire annual premium at once.
  • Ask about discounts. Some companies offer discounts. The discounts offered and their amounts vary by company.
  • Answer questions truthfully. Giving incorrect information when you apply for insurance could lead to an incorrect rate quote or a denial or cancellation of coverage. An insurance company may cancel your policy within the first 60 days if it gives you 30 days’ notice.
  • Choose the highest deductible you can afford. Higher deductibles will lower your premium, but you’ll have to pay more out of pocket if you have a claim.
  • Know how your credit score affects you. Insurance companies may consider your credit score when deciding whether to sell you a policy and the price to charge you. They cannot deny you coverage or refuse to renew your policy solely because of your credit score, however.

Having Trouble Finding Insurance?   

The Texas FAIR Plan is available to homeowners who have been declined by at least two insurance companies and have not received a valid offer of comparable insurance. To find agents authorized to sell coverage through the FAIR Plan, visit www.texasfairplan.org and click on the Find an Authorized Agent link.


For more information contact:



Last updated: 05/17/2012



Contact Information and Other Helpful Links

Translation by WorldLingo


Translation by WorldLingo