Bad weather, bad news for homeowners seeking insurance in Texas

Houston-area residents are once again in rebuilding mode after a severe windstorm delivered major damage to cars, businesses and homes last week. Insurers are just beginning to assess the extent of the damage at a time when premiums have been rising and some homeowners have lost private coverage altogether.

In the wake of the storm, insurance claims are flooding in, per Rich Johnson with the Insurance Council of Texas: “Fallen trees, whether it’s on homes or automobiles, a lot of broken windows,” he said. 

The storm is just another extreme weather event affecting the region. It’s coming after two years of double-digit increases in homeowners insurance rates.

That’s because storms are stronger and more frequent and “it’s compounded by the economy,” Johnson said. “The cost of building materials, the cost of labor.”  

Beyond increased costs, more Texans are struggling to find any private home insurance. And that’s pushing them into the Texas FAIR Plan, the state’s residential insurance plan of last resort.

“The private insurance market, for whatever reasons, is starting to retract from writing coverage,” said Anna Stafford with the Texas FAIR Plan Association.

Over the last year, she’s seen roughly a 32% increase in people turning to these last-resort policies.

“That could be due to the impact of weather events that we’ve experienced in the state,” Stafford said. 

Hundreds in the Houston area have filed claims with the state plan since the windstorm — and hurricane season starts next month.