Hail Season in Texas: When and How It Affects Homeowners

Texas · Hail

Hail is a covered peril. The deductible is a percent of the house.

On most Texas HO-3 policies, hail is a covered peril for the dwelling. What you pay first is the wind and hail deductible, and that deductible is often a percentage of Coverage A, the rebuild limit, not a percentage of the repair bill. Spring is when North and Central Texas see most of it, often talked about as March through June. The calendar is not the coverage. The declarations are.

Do the dollar math before the storm. On a $450,000 dwelling, 2 percent is $9,000. That figure is an example, not a quote. If the roof is actual cash value, depreciation comes off after the deductible. Actual cash value is replacement cost minus depreciation. Many forms pay replacement cost on the dwelling only if it is insured to about 80 percent of rebuild cost. A new roof can change eligibility and whether the roof itself is replacement cost or actual cash value. It is not a guaranteed percent off. Some forms exclude cosmetic hail damage. Read whether yours does before you argue about dents that do not let water in.

Hail on the cars is comprehensive, if you bought it, with the comprehensive deductible. It is not the homeowners claim. Photograph from the ground once it is safe. A claim can also show up at renewal as a reason to non-renew. That is a separate problem from whether this storm is covered. A lapse while you wait on the roof is still a lapse.

The house: Texas homeowners and the product. The cars: Texas car insurance. In Spanish, hail on the house or the car: daños por granizo. Replacement cost in Spanish: costo de reemplazo y valor real. Before you replace the roof: antes de reemplazar el techo. A wind-mitigation inspection is eligibility, not a coverage: inspección de mitigación de viento. If the carrier will not renew: cancellations, non-renewals, and lapses.

Convert the hail deductible to dollars now, and check whether the roof is replacement cost or actual cash value. Ask an agent.