Wind and Hail

Most Texas homeowners policies have two deductibles: one for most losses and a separate one for wind and hail. The wind and hail deductible is often a percentage of your dwelling coverage, so the dollar amount you would pay after a hailstorm can be much larger than the flat deductible you remember. Your lender requires that wind and hail be covered, and on loans sold to Fannie Mae, each deductible for a required peril cannot exceed 5 percent of the coverage amount (Fannie Mae B7-3-02). Read both deductibles before you bind the policy.

Flat versus percentage deductibles

A flat deductible is a dollar amount. A percentage deductible is calculated from the dwelling coverage on the policy. If the coverage goes up at renewal, a percentage deductible goes up with it in dollars. The insurer's quote should show the math. This article does not rank insurers or suggest a deductible level, because the right choice depends on your savings and your tolerance for risk.

What the lender requires

• Covered perils. Fannie Mae lists windstorm and hail among the required perils. If a policy excludes or limits a required peril, a separate policy must cover it.
• Deductible limits. Each deductible for a required peril, including a separate windstorm deductible, cannot exceed 5 percent of the property insurance coverage amount on loans sold to Fannie Mae. FHA, VA and USDA have their own hazard insurance rules, and individual investors can add requirements.
• Replacement cost. Fannie Mae requires replacement cost coverage, except that roofs must be insured but do not have to be on a replacement cost basis.
• Mortgagee clause and proof. The lender needs the declarations page and the paid premium before closing.

Roofs and insurability

Some insurers will not write a house with an older roof, or will write it with a roof exclusion, a cosmetic damage limitation, or actual cash value coverage on the roof. That is an insurance market decision. It can delay a closing if you cannot bind a policy the lender accepts. The appraiser may also call for roof repairs if the loan program treats the roof as a safety or soundness item. Those are two different reviews. See repairs and conditions.

Loss history

A prior claim can affect pricing and eligibility. Ask the seller for the home's claim history, sometimes called a CLUE report, during the option period, and ask your insurance agent how a recent roof claim would be treated.

Texas notes

The Texas Department of Insurance regulates homeowners insurance in Texas (TDI). The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association provides wind and hail coverage in designated coastal areas (TWIA). Tarrant County is not a coastal county, so Fort Worth buyers generally get wind and hail coverage through their regular homeowners policy.

If coverage lapses

If your policy lapses after closing, the servicer can buy coverage and charge you for it, after sending required notices (12 CFR 1024.37). That coverage usually protects the lender's interest, not your belongings. See force-placed insurance.

Fictional example

Fictional example: a buyer picks the policy with the smallest premium. The fine print shows a wind and hail deductible set as a percentage of a large dwelling limit. After a spring hailstorm, the out-of-pocket cost is that percentage deductible, not the small all-other-perils deductible. The lower premium was the price of keeping more of the hail risk. That can be a fair trade, but it should be known before closing.

Common mistakes

• Comparing premiums without comparing deductibles.
• Waiting until the last week to shop insurance on a house with an older roof.
• Thinking the lender chose the deductible. You choose the policy; the lender only rejects one that falls below its requirements.

Flood is a separate peril and needs a separate policy. See flood insurance and homeowners insurance in Texas.

Next step

Start your insurance quotes as soon as you are under contract, and send me the declarations page so I can confirm it meets the loan requirements. Book a call, or start an application.

Related questions

• Homeowners insurance in Texas
• Flood insurance on a mortgage
• Why is my escrow short?

Sources

Links checked Oct 21, 2026.

• Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B7-3-02 Property Insurance Requirements for One- to Four-Unit Properties (Aug 5, 2026): https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b7-3-02/property-insurance-requirements-one-four-unit-properties
• Texas Department of Insurance, home page (title and homeowners insurance regulator) (current; site blocks automated checks): https://www.tdi.texas.gov/
• Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, home page (coastal coverage area) (retrieved Oct 21, 2026): https://www.twia.org/
• CFPB Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.37 Force-placed insurance (current text): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1024/37/

About the author: McKade Lively, NMLS 2704474, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation dba True North Home Loans, NMLS 1850.

Equal Housing Opportunity.

Last reviewed: Oct 2026

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