Home insurance inspections in Texas — what they look for and why they happen

You buy a home insurance policy, and a few weeks later someone turns up to photograph your roof. Or a letter arrives asking for an inspection report before coverage will continue. It's unsettling, because most people assume the decision was already made when they paid.

It wasn't, quite. Under Texas rules, an insurance company gets a window after issuing a policy to keep looking — and what it finds in that window can change your premium or end the policy. Here's what we'll cover: why inspections happen at all, what companies actually look at, the 60-day rule, what an inspector is checking for, and a Texas program that can turn an inspection from something done to you into something that works for you.

Why an inspection happens: underwriting doesn't stop at the sale

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) describes underwriting as "how insurance companies look at your house, car, and personal history to determine if they will offer you a policy. Then, they use the information gathered during underwriting to help price your policy."

Two things follow from that, and the second one surprises people.

First, the rules aren't uniform. TDI: "Each company has different underwriting rules that determine who they'll sell a policy to." That is why one company inspects and another doesn't, and why two neighbors get different answers about the same kind of roof.

Second — and this is the part worth knowing before it happens — the process continues after you're insured. TDI: "When you are issued a policy, a company has 60 days to do more underwriting research. They could cancel your policy or change your premium depending on what they find. They must give you 10-days' notice if they cancel your policy."

So a post-purchase inspection isn't a sign something has gone wrong. It's the ordinary shape of the process.

What home insurance companies actually look at

TDI lists what "[m]ost companies consider" during home underwriting. An inspection is one of the ways they check several of these:

• "Your home's age and condition." TDI adds an important limit: "Companies can't turn you down just because of your home's age or value, but they can charge you more."
• "Your home's replacement cost." TDI defines this as "how much your company has to pay to replace your old property with new materials."
• "Construction materials." TDI: "Claim costs tend to be higher for houses built completely of wood. They're lower for houses built of brick or stone."
• "Where you live." TDI: "Companies might not write policies in certain areas where costs are higher for storms or crime."
• "Your home's occupancy." TDI: "Companies might limit the types of policies they sell for houses that are vacant, unoccupied, leased, secondary, seasonal, or rented for short-term home-sharing."
• "Availability of local fire protection." TDI: "Companies check to see how close you are to a fire station."
• "Your claims history." TDI notes companies "can't charge you more for claims you file but they didn't pay, calling your company and asking questions, claims for damage from weather, and certain appliance-related water damage claims."
• "Your credit score." TDI: "A company can't turn you down based only on your credit but the company can consider your credit together with other factors."

Notice that condition is the only item on that list an inspection can change quickly. Your ZIP code and your home's age are fixed. A cracked roof covering or an unfenced pool is not.

The 60-day window — and the inspection report that can end a policy

Texas rules give companies specific grounds to cancel inside the first 60 days, and one of them is about inspections directly. TDI: "A company may cancel your policy in the first 60 days if: It learns about a risk you didn't tell it about and that wasn't part of a previous claim. It doesn't accept a copy of a required inspection report before the policy starts."

Read the second one carefully. It isn't only about what an inspector finds — it's about the report existing and being accepted. If an inspection was a condition of the policy and the report doesn't arrive or isn't accepted, that's a stated ground for cancellation in the first 60 days, independent of the condition of the house.

If a cancellation does happen, TDI sets out the notice and the money: a company "must give you 10 days' notice before it cancels your policy," and "[i]f 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."

Condition also runs the other way, at renewal. TDI lists "Your house is in bad condition" among the reasons a company may nonrenew — with a note that matters: "Instead of nonrenewal, the company might require you to repair damage before it renews your policy. Companies usually give you at least six months to make repairs." A condition problem found at renewal is usually a repair deadline rather than an immediate ending. If you're already in that situation, what to do about a Texas home insurance non-renewal covers the next steps.

What an inspector is looking for

TDI publishes the standards a home must meet to qualify for a certificate of insurability under its Voluntary Inspection Program. That list is the clearest published statement of what "good condition" means for insurance purposes in Texas, and it's a fair guide to the sort of thing any inspector is looking at. TDI's standards include:

• "Good maintenance, with no unrepaired damage and no trash, brush, or debris in the yard."
• "Wiring in good working condition, with no flickering lights or evidence of overheating."
• "No curled, cracked, or significantly deteriorated roof coverings, or missing shingles."
• "Plumbing, heating, and cooling systems in good condition and free from leaks."
• "Space heaters and hot water heaters properly vented and not too close to walls and furniture."
• "No unfenced swimming pools, hot tubs, fishponds, bodies of water, or trampolines."
• "Property allows fire-fighting equipment to get to it."
• "No signs of active termites or unrepaired insect damage."

Most of that list is unremarkable maintenance. Two items catch people out: the unfenced pool or trampoline — which is a liability question, not a building question — and roof covering condition, which is the single most common sticking point on Texas homes. Roof condition is worth resolving before it shows up in an inspection report; how the wind and hail deductible works explains why the roof carries so much weight on a Texas policy in the first place.

The program that works in your favor

The Voluntary Inspection Program deserves its own section, because it inverts the usual dynamic — you commission the inspection, and the result is a document you hold.

TDI: "Some Texas homeowners have trouble getting home insurance due to various reasons, such as the age or location of their home. If the home is in good condition, the homeowner can try to get insurance by going through the Voluntary Inspection Program." And: "By hiring a Voluntary Inspection Program inspector, you can apply for a 'certificate of insurability.'"

What the certificate does is the point. TDI: "An insurance company can't refuse to sell or renew a policy because of your home's condition unless: (1) it inspects your home again and (2) it describes the issues in writing."

That's a meaningful protection. It doesn't guarantee any company will offer you a policy — companies still apply their own underwriting rules on everything else — but it takes vague, unexplained "condition" objections off the table unless the company does its own inspection and puts the problems in writing.

On duration, TDI: "The certificate is good for three years if you don't make a lot of changes to your property." If you do make significant changes, "[a]n insurance company can require another inspection," and "[t]he company may also require you to give a written statement saying that there haven't been a lot of changes to the property since it was last inspected."

TDI also publishes what it costs, which is unusual and useful: "The 2026 inspection fees are limited to $159.29. If you need a follow-up inspection to verify corrections of problems identified the first time around, you will need to pay an additional $79.63." An inspector "may charge a fee for mileage for each trip to and from the home, taking the most direct route," and TDI notes they "can't charge more than the IRS standard mileage rate for businesses."

The follow-up fee tells you how the program is designed to be used: find the problems, fix them, verify the fix.

What to do with this

• Expect the process to continue after you buy. The company has 60 days to keep researching, and it can change the premium or cancel with 10 days' notice in that window.
• If an inspection report is a condition of your policy, treat the deadline as real. Not accepting a required report before the policy starts is a stated cancellation ground in the first 60 days.
• Walk TDI's condition list yourself first. Roof coverings, exposed wiring problems, leaks, venting, an unfenced pool or trampoline, and yard debris are the recurring items, and most are cheaper to fix than to argue about.
• If your home's condition is why you're struggling to get covered, look at the Voluntary Inspection Program. A certificate of insurability limits a company's ability to refuse on condition grounds without inspecting and explaining in writing.
• If a condition problem surfaces at renewal, ask about repairs. TDI notes companies usually allow at least six months.

An inspection is not a verdict on your house. It's a step in a process that has published rules, deadlines, and — in Texas — a program specifically built for homeowners whose condition is the sticking point.

Key facts

• Underwriting continues after the sale. TDI: "When you are issued a policy, a company has 60 days to do more underwriting research. They could cancel your policy or change your premium depending on what they find."
• Cancellation requires notice. TDI: companies "must give you 10-days' notice if they cancel your policy," and must refund unearned premium "within 15 days after the date of the cancellation."
• A missing or unaccepted inspection report is a cancellation ground. TDI lists among first-60-day grounds: "It doesn't accept a copy of a required inspection report before the policy starts."
• Age alone isn't a valid turndown. TDI: "Companies can't turn you down just because of your home's age or value, but they can charge you more."
• Rules vary by company. TDI: "Each company has different underwriting rules that determine who they'll sell a policy to."
• TDI publishes the condition standards used for a certificate of insurability — including "No curled, cracked, or significantly deteriorated roof coverings, or missing shingles" and "No unfenced swimming pools, hot tubs, fishponds, bodies of water, or trampolines."
• A certificate of insurability constrains condition-based refusals. TDI: a company "can't refuse to sell or renew a policy because of your home's condition unless: (1) it inspects your home again and (2) it describes the issues in writing."
• The certificate lasts three years absent significant changes, and 2026 inspection fees "are limited to $159.29," with a follow-up inspection at "an additional $79.63."
• Condition problems at renewal often come with time. TDI: "Companies usually give you at least six months to make repairs."

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance — Auto and home policy underwriting, Voluntary Inspection Program, and Home insurance guide. TDI's Help Line is 800-252-3439.

Take the next step

The awkward thing about inspections is the timing: they tend to arrive right after you've committed, when switching feels like starting over. It doesn't have to be. Underwriting rules differ from company to company, so a condition that one insurer prices harshly is not necessarily priced the same way everywhere.

If an inspection changed your premium or your coverage, have Credify look at what else is available. Credify is a licensed insurance agency in Texas, and we compare options across multiple licensed Texas carriers in one short form, with no obligation; each insurer remains responsible for its own products. If you're working out what to compare, how to choose home insurance in Texas covers the coverage side, and independent agency vs going direct covers the two ways to shop it. 📞 Talk to Credify 24/7.