Your insurer just gave you 60 days. Here's what to do with them.
Texas doubled its home insurance non-renewal notice period from 30 to 60 days for policies bought or renewed since 2024 — one of the more consumer-friendly windows Coverage Clock currently tracks. But on the coast, working through it in the right order matters even more, because Texas's residual market isn't one plan. It's two, split by peril.
Everything for Texas homeowners
Your deadline
- 60 daysNotice period: Tex. Ins. Code §551.105 (policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2024).
- Texas non-renewal rules, in plain language
Your options
- Windstorm (TWIA) — Wind and hail coverage only, in 14 coastal counties and part of Harris County.
- Texas FAIR Plan (TFPA) — For Texas homes the private market has declined; on the coast it pairs with TWIA for wind and hail.
Tools
- Non-renewal deadline calculator — Enter the date on your notice and get the exact date your coverage lapses, with a countdown checklist.
- Texas FAIR Plan (TFPA) premium calculator — A TFPA premium estimate by coverage amount and area cost tier, and whether you also need a TWIA policy for wind and hail.
- All Texas calculators
Official resources
- Texas Department of Insurance
- Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA)
- Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA)
Coverage Clock is independent and is not affiliated with any of these organisations. Facts checked October 8, 2026.
On the coast, you may need two policies, not one.
California pairs a fire-only FAIR Plan with a separate DIC wrap for everything else. Texas runs a mirror image of that same idea along its coast — a wind-only backstop paired with a separate policy for everything else — and getting the sequence right saves real money.
Check whether the reason is fixable, and re-shop the standard market
A non-renewal from one insurer doesn't blacklist your home everywhere. Roof age, prior claims, and underwriting pullback from your county are common reason codes, and underwriting criteria vary a lot carrier to carrier.
- Ask your current insurer directly whether correcting the cited issue and requesting a re-inspection can get the non-renewal rescinded.
- Ask every agent you call whether they represent more than one admitted carrier. A captive agent can't tell you no on behalf of the whole market.
- Comparing rates across multiple carriers at once saves calling each one individually — you can start a comparison here.
- Prefer to go straight to specific carriers instead of a blanket comparison? State Farm, Progressive, and Liberty Mutual all write homeowners coverage directly, and Insurify pulls quotes from several carriers at once. If you or a family member served in the military, USAA is another option — membership is required.
On the coast: TWIA for wind and hail, a separate policy for everything else
If you're in one of the 14 first-tier coastal counties, or the part of Harris County east of Highway 146, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) is guaranteed-issue for wind and hail damage — but wind and hail only. Fire, theft, liability, and every other peril need a separate policy: either the private market, or the Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA), which explicitly excludes wind and hail inside TWIA's own coastal counties.
See how TWIA pricing and eligibility work → · Texas FAIR Plan (TFPA): coverage, fees and how to apply →
Surplus lines (E&S) market
Licensed but non-admitted specialty insurers write full homeowners coverage in a single policy — not split by peril the way TWIA and TFPA are — for higher-risk homes the standard market won't touch. It costs more than an admitted policy, but it's one policy instead of two to keep in sync.
- Not every agent has access to this market. Ask specifically: "Do you hold E&S or surplus-lines appointments, or only admitted carriers?"
- Get the quote in writing before you drop any existing coverage — surplus-lines pricing varies more between brokers than the admitted market does.
TWIA's book just had its biggest growth year yet.
Texas's coastal wind-and-hail market has been growing for years, but 2025 was the year the growth accelerated across every measure TWIA tracks.
This week, not this month.
Read the reason code on the notice, and check the date your policy last renewed — that's what determines whether you're on the new 60-day notice or the older 30-day one.
Call your current insurer and ask directly whether correcting the cited issue and requesting a re-inspection can get the notice rescinded. Ask your agent whether they hold E&S/surplus-lines appointments or only admitted carriers.
If the admitted market is a dead end and you're in TWIA territory, apply to TWIA and price your other-perils coverage in the same window — a private policy or TFPA, whichever fits — not as a follow-up you get to later.
Confirm both policies are bound to the same effective date if you're running the TWIA + other-perils combination. Lenders generally require both pieces in place together, not staggered.
Confirm your new coverage's effective date overlaps the old policy's. Even a one-day lapse can trigger your lender's force-placed insurance — which costs far more than anything above.
Build a documented home inventory while you're already gathering paperwork for this. A dated, photo-backed record of your home's condition and belongings makes any future claim faster to settle and gives a new carrier's underwriter less to guess about. HomeZada is a home-management app built for exactly this.
A home warranty covers what your homeowners policy doesn't. Mechanical breakdowns of a furnace, water heater, or major appliance from ordinary wear aren't a homeowners-insurance claim. American Home Shield and Choice Home Warranty both sell plans that cover that gap.
Vetting a broker in five minutes
- Ask the E&S/surplus-lines question above — word for word. A vague answer is itself an answer.
- If you're coastal, ask specifically whether they can place both a TWIA application and the companion other-perils policy, not just one half of the pair.
- Verify any agent's license through the Texas Department of Insurance's agent and adjuster license lookup before signing anything.
What people ask before they call anyone.
How much notice does Texas require before a home insurer can not renew my policy?
At least 60 days for policies bought or renewed in 2024 or later, under Texas Insurance Code §551.105 — double the previous 30-day standard. If your policy hasn't renewed since before 2024, you may still be on the older 30-day notice. Mid-term cancellation, including for nonpayment, keeps a much shorter 10-day notice under §§551.053 and 551.104.
What is TWIA?
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is the state's insurer of last resort for wind and hail damage only, available in 14 first-tier coastal counties plus part of Harris County east of Highway 146. It does not cover fire, theft, liability, or any other peril — those need a separate policy.
If I get a TWIA policy, do I need anything else?
Yes. TWIA covers wind and hail only, so you still need a separate policy for fire, theft, liability, and other perils — either from a private insurer or the Texas FAIR Plan Association, which explicitly excludes wind and hail inside TWIA's 14 coastal counties. Most mortgage lenders require both pieces bound together, the same way California's FAIR Plan pairs with a DIC wrap.
What is the Texas FAIR Plan Association, and how is it different from TWIA?
The Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA) is a separate residual-market insurer covering fire, theft, vandalism, and other named perils statewide for homeowners declined by at least two private insurers. Inside TWIA's 14 coastal counties, TFPA excludes wind and hail entirely, since that's TWIA's job. Outside those counties, TFPA generally includes wind and hail, making it a single all-perils backstop for the rest of the state.
What is surplus lines (E&S) insurance?
Licensed but non-admitted specialty insurers that write full homeowners coverage — not split by peril — for higher-risk homes the standard market won't touch. It costs more than an admitted policy but is one policy instead of stacking TWIA and TFPA separately.