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Español Homeowners insurance protects you financially if your home or property is damaged or destroyed by something your policy covers, like a fire or storm. Texas has a Consumer Bill of Rights for homeowners and renters insurance. Your insurance company will give you a copy of the Bill of Rights when you get or renew a policy. Is homeowners insurance required?The law doesn’t require you to have homeowners insurance. But if you still owe money on your home, your lender will require you to have it. Even though it’s not legally required, homeowners insurance is a good idea because it helps protect your home and other assets. Learn more: 10 steps to find the right home insurance | 3 questions to ask before you buy home insurance Types of homeowners coveragesHomeowners policies combine several types of coverage into one policy. Most homeowners policies in Texas include these six coverages:
Learn more: Do you have enough home insurance? | Watch: Insuring life's treasures What risks does a homeowners policy cover?Your homeowners policy protects you against different risks, or perils. Risks and perils are things that could damage your house or property. This table shows common risks that most policies do and don’t cover. Coverages vary by company. Read your policy or talk to your agent to be sure of your exact coverages. What risks does a homeowners policy cover?
Watch: Does my insurance policy cover that? | What are covered perils? Replacement cost vs. actual cash value coverageHomeowners policies provide either replacement cost coverage or actual cash value coverage. To be fully protected, make sure your policy has replacement cost coverage.
Learn more: Home policies: Replacement cost or actual cash value? Deductibles and dollar limitsIf you have a claim, you must meet a deductible.A deductible is the amount of a claim that you must pay yourself. For instance, if you have a $1,000 claim and your policy has a $300 deductible, the insurance company will deduct $300 from your claim amount and pay you $700. You might have different deductibles for each type of coverage. Learn more: What to know about deductibles Policies pay only up to their dollar limits.Each type of coverage has a dollar limit. Make sure you have enough coverage to replace your home and property if you have a total loss. If you don’t have enough coverage, you’ll have to pay the difference yourself. Most companies require you to insure your house for at least 80% of its replacement cost. Some companies require you to insure your house for 100% of its replacement cost. The first page of your policy is the declarations page. It has a summary of your policy, including your coverages, dollar limits, and deductibles. Personal property coverageHomeowners policies usually pay a percentage of your dwelling coverage limit to repair or replace your furniture, clothes, and other property. For example, say you insure your house for $100,000 and your policy covers your property at 20% of that. Your personal property would be insured for up to $20,000. Homeowners policies limit what they’ll pay for things like jewelry and art. If you own expensive jewelry, art, or other items, talk to your agent about adding more coverage. Make a list of the items you own.A complete list of your property will help you decide how much coverage you need and will make filing claims easier. Update your list regularly. If you can, include the date you bought each item, its value, and its serial number. This is especially important for expensive items. Photograph or videotape each room, including closets, storage buildings, and your garage. Open drawers and photograph what’s inside. Keep the list and receipts for major items in a fireproof safe or at another location. Use our Home Inventory Checklist to help make your list. Learn more: You need a home inventory Other coverages you might needYour homeowners policy might not protect you against some risks. You can buy a separate policy or add on to your policy if you need more protection. Flood insuranceHomeowners policies don’t cover damage caused by floods. If your home is in a designated flood zone, your lender requires you to have flood insurance. But floods can happen anywhere. More than half of homes flooded by Hurricane Harvey were outside of designated flood zones. Talk to your home insurance agent about getting a flood policy from your insurance company or the National Flood Insurance Program. If your agent doesn’t sell flood insurance, call 800-427-4661 for help. Most flood policies have a 30-day waiting period before kicking in so don’t wait for an approaching storm before deciding to buy coverage. Learn more: Do you need flood insurance? Windstorm and hail insurance on the Gulf CoastIf you live on the Texas coast or in Harris County on Galveston Bay, your homeowners policy doesn’t cover wind and hail damage. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) sells wind and hail coverage for coastal residents. You buy TWIA coverage from local insurance agents. Depending on where you live, you might need flood insurance before TWIA will sell you a policy. You also might need a home inspection by an engineer or a windstorm inspector. For more information, visit twia.org or call 800-788-8247. Don’t wait until the last minute to buy wind and hail insurance. TWIA won’t sell you a policy if there’s a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. Learn more: Home, flood, wind: Which policies do you need? | Watch: Windstorm insurance inspections Extra liability coverageHomeowners policies provide liability protection, but the amount of coverage is limited. If you want more coverage than your policy provides, you can buy a separate umbrella liability policy. Extra coverage (endorsements)Most companies offer endorsements, or policy add-ons, that let you increase or add coverage. Common endorsements include coverage for:
Coverage for short-term rentalsMost policies won’t pay for damages or injuries that occur during short-term rentals. If you rent out your house for short-term lodging, ask your insurance agent if you’re covered. You might need to buy more coverage. If you’re a guest in a short-term rental, your homeowners or renters policy might cover you if you damage a host’s property. Ask your insurance agent before you rent. If you’re renting through an app or website that offers insurance coverage, ask your agent if you need it. Learn more: Home sharing: 3 questions to ask | Watch: How to protect yourself if you have a short-term rental or rideshare Other types of property insurance
Watch: What to check before renewing your home insurance Understanding rates and premiumsTexas law requires insurance companies to charge rates that are fair, reasonable, and adequate for the risks they cover. We don’t approve rates in advance, but if we find that an insurance company’s rates are too high, we can require it to pay refunds to the people it overcharged. Insurance companies may appeal our decisions. How do companies decide what to charge me?Insurance companies use a process called underwriting to decide whether to sell you a policy and how much to charge you. The amount you pay for insurance is called a premium. Each company’s underwriting rules are different. This means one company might be willing to sell you a policy, even if another company isn’t. It also means that different companies charge different rates. Most companies consider these things when deciding on your premium:
Learn more: How your credit score can affect your insurance rates Insurance companies may check the claim history of you and your house.Most companies use the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) to learn your claims history. CLUE reports show the claims history of people and houses, regardless of who owned them, for the last seven years. A company can charge you more or refuse to sell you a policy based on the information in your CLUE report. Companies can report information to CLUE only if you filed a claim. You can challenge wrong information. You can get a free copy of the report each year. Call LexisNexis at 866-312-8076. Learn more: How to get a CLUE about your claims history Your rightsAn insurance company may not:
Saving money on your insuranceAsk your agent about discounts.Discounts help lower your premium. Each company decides what discounts to offer and the amount of the discount. You might be able to get a discount if you have:
Visit HelpInsure.com to find out what discounts companies offer. Protect your home and property from crime.The company you chose with the best policy and price might not want to sell you insurance if your house is in bad shape. To help protect your house against burglars:
Keep your house and yard in good shape.Someone from the insurance company will inspect the outside of your house when you apply for insurance. Companies may charge you more or refuse to insure you based on what they see. To improve your home’s safety and appearance:
Losing your insuranceIf you ask, a company must tell you in writing why it turned you down or didn’t renew your policy. You may complain to us if you think a company improperly denied, canceled, or nonrenewed your policy. What happens if a company cancels my policy or doesn’t renew it?Cancellation means either you or the insurance company stops coverage before your policy’s end date. A company must give you 10 days’ notice before it cancels your policy. A company may cancel your policy in the first 60 days if:
An insurance company may cancel your policy anytime if:
If either you or the company cancels your policy, the company must refund any unearned premium to you within 15 days after the date of the cancellation. Unearned premium is the amount you paid in advance that didn’t go toward coverage. For example, say your premium is $100 a month, or $1,200 a year. If you paid for the full year in advance, but then cancel your policy after one month, the company would owe you $1,100 in unearned premium. Nonrenewal means a company refuses to renew your policy when it expires. A company must tell you in writing that it isn’t going to renew your policy. It must tell you at least 30 days before your policy expires. If the company doesn’t tell you in time, it must renew the policy if you ask. A company may nonrenew your policy if:
A company may not refuse to renew your policy if you file a claim for something your policy doesn’t cover. It can raise your rates, though. What if I can’t find a company willing to insure me?If you can’t find a company to sell you a policy, you might be able to get coverage through the Texas FAIR Plan Association or a surplus lines insurance company. FAIR Plan and surplus lines coverage is more expensive than coverage from a standard insurance company. The Texas FAIR Plan Association sells basic homeowners insurance. You can get FAIR Plan coverage if you can’t find a Texas-licensed company to insure you and at least two companies have turned you down. For more information, call your agent or the FAIR Plan at 800-979-6440. Surplus lines companies are out-of-state companies that insure risks that companies in Texas won’t insure. Although they don’t have a Texas license, they must meet state standards to sell insurance here. Surplus lines companies must be licensed in their home state or country. Agents must make a good effort to find coverage with a Texas-licensed company before selling you a surplus lines policy. Homeowners claimsTo help make the claim process go smoothly, follow these tips:
Learn more: How do I file a homeowners insurance claim? | Is it OK for a contractor to waive my deductible? Watch: 4 ways to avoid contractor scams After I file my claim, what can I expect?Texas law sets deadlines for insurance companies to act after you’ve filed a claim. Your company must:
There are some exceptions to the deadlines:
Learn more: Will my premium go up if I file a claim? What if I need help negotiating my claim?You can hire a public insurance adjuster to help you. Public adjusters work for you, not the insurance company. Public adjusters charge fees for their services. Before you hire one, make sure you understand what you’ll have to pay. Public adjusters can’t give legal advice or take part in repairing your property. They also can’t do anything that would be a conflict of interest. Public adjusters must have a TDI license. To learn whether a public adjuster is licensed, call our Help Line at 800-252-3439 or use the Look up an agent feature on our website. How companies pay claimsRepair claimsIf you owe money on your home, the insurance company will make the check for repairs out to both you and your mortgage company. When you get the check, you’ll need to endorse it and send it to the mortgage company. In most cases, the mortgage company will deposit the check and release money to you as the work is done. The mortgage company may ask you for more information before it releases money to you. For instance, you might need to give the mortgage company a list of the work to be done and cost estimates, information about who’s doing the work, and timelines. After the mortgage company gets the information, it must release all or some of the money to you within 10 days. If your mortgage company doesn’t release the money on time, complain to the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Call 800-252-8011 or visit TexasAttorneyGeneral.gov. If you have a replacement cost policy, most companies pay with two checks.You’ll get the first check after the adjuster has looked at your damage. This check will be for the estimated cost of repairs, minus depreciation and your deductible. Depreciation is an amount subtracted for wear and tear or age. A deductible is the amount of the claim that you must pay yourself. Read your policy or ask your agent if you don’t know how much your deductible is. The insurance company will give you a check for the amount it kept for depreciation after it gets the bill for the finished job. You usually must complete repairs within a certain period of time. Ask your agent or adjuster if you’re not sure how long you have to repair or replace your property. Personal property claimsIf you have to replace your clothes, furniture, and other personal items, the insurance company will make the check out to you. If you have replacement cost coverage, you’ll get two checks. The first will be for the actual cash value of the items. Actual cash value is the cost to replace the item, minus depreciation. After you’ve replaced the item, the company will give you a check for the rest of your claim amount. Additional living expenses claimsIf you must move while your house is being repaired, your policy might pay for your additional living expenses, or ALE. Additional living expenses include rent, food, and other costs you wouldn’t have if you were still in your home. If your policy covers ALE, it might be limited to 10 to 20% of the amount of the dwelling coverage on your house. Watch your expenses to make sure you don’t run out of ALE. Your insurance company will pay for your additional living expenses only up to your policy’s ALE dollar limits. Because repairs on your home can sometimes take months, watch your expenses to make sure you have enough ALE to cover the entire time you’ll be out of your home. If you reach your policy’s ALE dollar limits before your home is fully repaired, you’ll have to pay the rest of your additional living expenses out of your own pocket. Resolving problemsIf you disagree with the adjuster’s estimate or the amount the company is offering to pay you, tell the insurance company why. You might be able to work things out by talking with the company or the adjuster. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, here are your options:
If your claim is for less than $10,000, you can use Justice Court. Justice Court is a special court that handles small-claims disputes. You don’t need an attorney, but you have to pay a filing fee and other court costs in advance. If you win, you can get that money back. For more information, call your county justice of the peace office. Learn more: What if my insurance isn't paying enough? Which of the following information is found on the declarations page of a policy?The Declaration Page
It identifies who is the insured, what risks or property are covered, the policy limits, and the policy period (i.e. time the policy is in force).
Which of the following is not found on the declarations page?Which of the following is not found on the Declarations Page? Exclusions - The Declarations Page contains the information necessary to tailor the policy to the individual and property insured. The exclusions are found in the Exclusions section of the policy and coverage forms. 8.
Which of the following is found on the declarations page?What is listed on the declarations page? Your policy number is typically included on your declarations page, as well as the limits you've selected for primary homeowners coverages like dwelling coverage, personal property coverage, liability coverage and guest medical protection.
What is a Homeowners declaration page?When you purchase a homeowners insurance policy, when you renew your policy, or when you make any changes to your policy, the company will give you a document called a “Declarations Page.” The Declarations Page identifies the kinds and amounts of coverage you have and how much it will cost you.
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