Denied home insurance in Texas? Since January 2026 they have to tell you why

There's a particular kind of frustration in being turned down for home insurance. A cancellation or a non-renewal at least comes with a letter and a date. A declined application often arrived as a shrug — no, we can't write that one — and you were left to guess whether the problem was your roof, your claims history, your ZIP code, or something you'd never be able to fix.

That guessing game ended in Texas on January 1, 2026. The Texas Department of Insurance now states the rule directly:

"If you were declined a policy or your policy was canceled or not renewed after Jan. 1, 2026, your company must give you a written statement telling you why they declined, canceled, or nonrenewed your policy."

The change is small in wording and large in effect. The old rule gave you the reason if you asked for it. The new one puts the reason in your hands automatically, whether you ask or not. That single difference is what makes this page worth reading, because the reason is the most useful piece of information you can hold when you go looking for a policy somewhere else.

This page covers what the new law actually requires, why a declination is a different event from a cancellation or a non-renewal, what the written reason is good for, and the routes still open to you if the standard market keeps saying no.

What changed on January 1, 2026

The change came from House Bill 2067, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature and relating to the declination, cancellation, or nonrenewal of insurance policies. It amended Chapter 551 of the Texas Insurance Code, and the bill's own effective-date section is one line: "This Act takes effect January 1, 2026." It applies to decisions made on or after that date.

Three parts of it are worth knowing as a consumer.

The reason is automatic. This is the heart of it, and you can see the change in the bill's own strike-through. Section 551.109 previously required an insurer to provide a written statement of the reason for a declination, cancellation, or nonrenewal "at the request of an applicant for insurance or an insured." HB 2067 struck that phrase out. With the deleted words removed, the section now requires simply that an insurer shall provide a written statement of the reason for a declination of a completed and submitted application, or a cancellation or nonrenewal of a policy. The same kind of phrase — "on request by an applicant for insurance or a policyholder" — was struck from Section 551.002(a). No request required, in either place.

It applies going forward, not backward. The Act is specific about which decisions it reaches: it "applies only to an application for insurance that is made or an insurance policy that is delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after the effective date." An application you submitted in 2025 is governed by the old rule.

The reasons get counted. The bill also added Section 551.006, a reporting duty. An insurer must give the Department "at least once each quarter a written report summarizing the insurer's reasons for declination, cancellation, or nonrenewal," organized by the ZIP codes of the applicants and policyholders who received the statements. TDI then "shall post an aggregated summary of the reports" on its website. In its announcement, TDI put it more plainly: "TDI will combine the information and post it online."

One limit on that data is worth knowing before you go looking for it. The statute says the published summary "may not identify, directly or indirectly, any insurer." So this will show you which ZIP codes are getting harder to insure — genuinely new information in Texas — but it will not let you look up how often a particular company says no.

Declined, canceled, non-renewed: three different things

These get used interchangeably in conversation, and they aren't interchangeable at all. TDI defines the two that involve an existing policy:

"Nonrenewal means your company is not continuing (renewing) your policy after your policy's end date."

"Cancellation means your company will stop your policy before its end date."

The notice you're owed differs accordingly. For a non-renewal, TDI says the company "must give you 60 days' notice of a nonrenewal if you bought or renewed your policy in 2024," and that "if you bought or renewed your policy in 2023 or earlier, it must give you 30 days' notice." For a cancellation, the window is much shorter: "A company must give you 10 days' notice before it cancels your policy."

A declination is the third case and the one this page is about — you applied, and the company decided not to write the policy at all. There's no policy to end and no notice period to run, which is exactly why the old on-request rule left applicants with so little. The new written-statement requirement covers all three.

Knowing which one happened to you matters, because they carry different weight when you apply elsewhere. "I was declined by one carrier" and "my policy was canceled for non-payment" are very different facts about you.

What the written reason is actually for

Treat the statement as a diagnosis rather than a verdict. Broadly, the reasons split into things about the house and things about the insurer, and they point in opposite directions.

Reasons about the property or the record — the condition of the roof, the age of the wiring, a claims history — are things you can sometimes act on. TDI's published list of non-renewal reasons gives a sense of what this category looks like: "Your house is in worse condition than when you bought the policy," where "a company might say you have six months to make repairs"; "You file three or more nonweather-related claims in three years"; and "Your house is vacant for 60 days or more." Where the reason names something fixable, fixing it changes the answer — and TDI's own example shows companies sometimes say so explicitly, with a deadline attached.

Reasons about the insurer's own appetite are a different animal. TDI lists this one plainly: "Your company decided to limit the coverage it sells in your area." That has nothing to do with your house. It's a business decision about a region, and no amount of roof work will reverse it. What it tells you is that you're shopping, not repairing — and that carriers with a different view of your area are the ones worth approaching.

The reason you were given also tells you whether you're facing one carrier's answer or the market's. One declination is one company's underwriting rule. That is genuinely different from a house nobody will write.

If the standard market keeps saying no

Texas has structures for exactly this situation, and they have entry rules worth knowing before you need them.

Shop first, deliberately. TDI's advice after a refusal is to "start shopping around," to "have a new policy in place before your current policy expires," and to "get sample rates on our HelpInsure.com site." Carriers differ substantially in what they'll write; a no from one is not a survey of the market.

The Texas FAIR Plan. This is the state's home insurance provider of last resort, and the entry rule is specific:

"To get a policy, you must have been turned down by two insurance companies. You won't qualify if a company has offered you a policy or renewal."

Note the second sentence — it disqualifies more people than the first. An offer you didn't like is still an offer, and turning down a policy you were offered is not the same as being turned down. TDI describes the eligible properties: "You can apply for coverage through the Texas FAIR Plan Association if you own a house, townhouse, condo, or manufactured home. The FAIR Plan also sells renters insurance."

Surplus lines, with a caveat attached. TDI raises this as the next step when the FAIR Plan isn't enough, and pairs it with a warning:

"If you need more insurance than a FAIR plan policy provides, your agent might suggest surplus lines insurance. Surplus lines is a special type of insurance that covers unique risks, like hard-to-insure houses. Surplus lines insurance has fewer consumer protections than typical home insurance."

That last sentence is TDI's, and it belongs in any honest description of the option. Surplus lines exists precisely to cover risks the standard market won't, which is useful — but the consumer protections that come with a standard Texas policy don't all come with it.

Coastal wind coverage, and a hard deadline. If the difficulty is wind and hail rather than the house itself, TWIA sells wind and hail coverage for coastal residents turned down by an insurance company. TDI notes you might need flood insurance first, and might need "a home inspection by an engineer or windstorm inspector." And it flags the timing trap in a sentence no one should have to learn the hard way: "TWIA won't sell you a policy if there's a hurricane on the way."

If the written statement never arrives. The requirement is a legal one, and TDI's Help Line is 800-252-3439. You may file a complaint with TDI if you think a company handled a nonrenewal or cancellation unfairly.

Key facts

• Reasons are now automatic. TDI: for decisions after "Jan. 1, 2026, your company must give you a written statement telling you why they declined, canceled, or nonrenewed your policy."
• The law is HB 2067, 89th Texas Legislature, amending Insurance Code Chapter 551. Its effective-date section reads: "This Act takes effect January 1, 2026." It struck the words "at the request of an applicant for insurance or an insured" from Section 551.109.
• It isn't retroactive. The Act "applies only to an application for insurance that is made or an insurance policy that is delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after the effective date."
• The data becomes public, but anonymized. Under new Section 551.006, insurers report reasons to TDI "at least once each quarter," organized by ZIP code; TDI "shall post an aggregated summary" that "may not identify, directly or indirectly, any insurer."
• Notice periods differ by event. TDI: 60 days for a non-renewal on a policy bought or renewed in 2024 (30 days for 2023 or earlier), and 10 days for a cancellation.
• FAIR Plan entry is two declinations. TDI: "you must have been turned down by two insurance companies. You won't qualify if a company has offered you a policy or renewal."
• Surplus lines carries a trade-off. TDI: it "has fewer consumer protections than typical home insurance."
• TWIA has a weather cutoff. TDI: "TWIA won't sell you a policy if there's a hurricane on the way."
• TDI Help Line: 800-252-3439.

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance — Was your home insurance canceled or not renewed?, Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas, Know why your auto or home policy was declined, canceled, not renewed; Texas HB 2067, 89th Legislature (2025). Insurers file their own policy forms in Texas, and underwriting standards differ by company, so eligibility depends on the individual insurer's rules. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Take the next step

A declination used to be a closed door with nothing written on it. As of this year it comes with the reason attached — and the reason is the whole difference between shopping blindly and shopping well. If the letter names something about your house, you know what to fix and roughly what it's worth. If it names the insurer's appetite for your area, you know to stop explaining your roof and start looking at carriers who see that area differently.

The mistake to avoid is treating one company's no as the market's answer. Underwriting rules vary a great deal between carriers, which is precisely why TDI's first piece of advice after a refusal is to shop rather than to give up — and why the last-resort options are gated behind two declinations rather than one.

Credify is a licensed insurance agency in Texas. If you've been turned down, bring the written reason with you — it makes the search faster and more accurate. We compare quotes from multiple licensed Texas carriers in one short form, with no obligation; each insurer has sole responsibility for its own products, and eligibility is always the insurer's decision. For background, what to do about a non-renewal covers the closely related case, how to choose home insurance in Texas covers sizing coverage, and independent agency vs. direct explains how comparing several carriers at once works. 📞 Talk to Credify 24/7.