Reviewed and approved by Samuel Corso, licensed Texas insurance agent.

Published September 21, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026

Does home insurance cover termites in Texas?

You tap a baseboard and it gives, or you find insect damage inside a wall, and the first question is whether home insurance pays for the repair. This guide sets out what the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) says about termites and home insurance, and what you can do next.

The short version. For home insurance in Texas, TDI lists termites among the risks most policies don't cover in its Home insurance guide, which adds that coverages vary by company. TDI's homeowners insurance FAQ answers the termite question with a plain no. To be sure of your exact coverages, the guide says to read your policy or talk to your agent.

Here's what we'll cover: what TDI says about termites, where termites sit next to wear and tear on TDI's list, how policy type and wording come into it, what TDI and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension say about prevention and treatment, pest control licenses, the termite report in a home sale, and steps you can take the week you find termites.

What TDI actually says

Four Texas Department of Insurance consumer pages address termites and home insurance in Texas, and all four point the same way. The table of risks in TDI's Home insurance guide has a column for risks most policies don't cover, and one entry in that column reads "Termites, insects, rats, or mice".

The guide qualifies the whole table in the sentence above it: "Coverages vary by company. Read your policy or talk to your agent to be sure of your exact coverages." So the guide's statement is about most policies, and it leaves the answer for any one policy to that policy's wording.

Two other TDI pages put it without that qualifier. TDI's homeowners insurance FAQ asks whether homeowners insurance covers termite or squirrel damage, answers no, and says: "If rodents and insects chew on your house, your policy won’t pay for the repairs." TDI's tip sheet Five things your home policy won't cover carries the same sentence under the heading "Rodent or insect damage".

The fourth page, TDI's Home insurance policies: All risk or named peril, speaks about all-risk policies specifically: "They usually don’t cover damage from termites, wear and tear, sewer backups, floods, or earthquakes."

Read together, the four pages differ in how firmly they put it (the guide speaks of most policies, the policy-type page says usually, and the FAQ gives a flat no), and none of them describes termite damage as something a home policy pays for. Our guide on what home insurance doesn't cover in Texas walks through the rest of that list.

Termites alongside wear and tear on TDI's list

In TDI's table of home insurance risks, termites share a column with wear and tear and a continuous water leak. The same column of the Home insurance guide, the one for risks most policies don't cover, also lists flooding, a continuous water leak, wear and tear, and earthquakes or earth movement, subject to the guide's note that coverages vary by company.

The column for risks most policies do cover includes fire and lightning, theft, and the sudden and accidental release of water or smoke, under the same note that coverages vary by company.

The wear and tear entry is described in TDI's Five things your home policy won't cover this way: "Companies won’t pay for damages that happen over time, like rotted boards, cracking window seals, or worn roofs." That sentence is about wear and tear. TDI does not say on these pages why termites are on the list.

Could a policy ever respond to anything here?

Whether a Texas home insurance policy responds to anything involving termites depends on that policy's own wording. TDI's Home insurance guide says coverages vary by company and that reading your policy or talking to your agent is how to be sure of your exact coverages.

Policy type is part of that wording. TDI's Home insurance policies: All risk or named peril says all-risk policies cover any event the policy doesn't specifically exclude, and that they usually don't cover damage from termites. The same page says named perils policies cover only the events listed in the policy. Read against those descriptions, the question for your own policy is whether termite or insect damage appears among its exclusions (all-risk) or is missing from its list of perils (named perils).

That TDI page also says that if you need more coverage than your policy provides, you can talk to your agent about your options, and that you might be able to add some coverages for an additional cost. TDI makes that statement about coverage in general. Neither that page nor the list of common endorsements in TDI's Home insurance guide mentions termites.

How your own policy treats what you found is a question to put to your agent or insurer in writing, describing what you found.

What TDI and AgriLife say about prevention and treatment

For rodent and insect damage to a Texas home, TDI's prevention advice is short. Both its homeowners insurance FAQ and Five things your home policy won't cover follow the statement that the policy won't pay for repairs with this: "Inspect your house, roof, and attic to look for any holes you can patch."

TDI's advice covers rodents and insects together and stops at inspecting and patching. Those two pages do not go into termite treatment. On that subject, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's Frequently Asked Questions About Subterranean Termite Control says that if you suspect termites, it's a good idea to have a professional inspect your home.

The same AgriLife page covers the termite contract. It says the warranty spells out the conditions and time limits under which the company will assume responsibility for continued termite activity, and it advises comparing the warranties offered by different companies carefully. A warranty of that kind comes from the pest control company and is a separate document from your home insurance policy.

Checking the company is licensed

Pest control companies that treat structures in Texas are licensed through the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). According to the Texas Department of Agriculture's Structural Pest Control Service, the service "licenses and regulates pest management professionals who apply pesticides in and around structures." The same TDA page carries a Current Licenses link, so before you sign a termite treatment contract you can ask the company for its license details and look them up there.

The termite report when you buy or sell

A formal termite report can be part of a real estate transaction in Texas. AgriLife's termite control FAQ refers to a formal report for use in a real estate transaction, as distinct from an ordinary termite inspection. Separately, TDA's Structural Pest Control Service page, in a reminder addressed to license holders, names the Official Texas Wood Destroying Insect Report (form SPCS/T-5) and calls it a prescribed form on which no revisions or omissions are allowed.

An insurer may also inspect the house. TDI's Five things your home policy won't cover says that when you buy or renew a policy the insurance company might inspect your house, and that it could charge you more or not sell you a policy if your house is in poor condition. TDI says this about a home's condition in general, in its wear and tear entry, and does not mention termites there.

Our guides on home insurance when buying or selling a home in Texas and home insurance inspections in Texas cover how those pieces fit around a closing. If the house is an older one, our guide on home insurance for older homes in Texas covers that ground.

What to do the week you find them

If you find termites or termite damage in a Texas home, these are steps you can take. The list is Credify's own, and a source is named only where a step uses one.

1. Leave some of what you found in place. AgriLife's termite control FAQ says that if you find suspicious mud structures on your foundation, leave at least part of the material in place for a professional termite inspector to examine.
2. Photograph everything. Record the location, the affected wood and the date.
3. Have a professional inspect. The AgriLife FAQ says a professional inspection is a good idea if you suspect termites. You can ask the company for its license details, since TDA's Structural Pest Control Service licenses pest management professionals who apply pesticides in and around structures.
4. Compare warranties. If you get more than one proposal, the AgriLife FAQ advises comparing the warranties offered by different companies carefully.
5. Ask your agent or insurer the coverage question in writing. Name what you found. TDI's homeowners insurance FAQ gives a general answer of no for termite damage, and TDI's Home insurance guide says coverages vary by company and that your policy or your agent is where to confirm your exact coverages.
6. Look for openings. For rodent and insect damage, TDI's FAQ advises inspecting your house, roof, and attic for any holes you can patch.
7. Set a date to check again. Ask the professional when the house should next be looked at, and put it on a calendar.

Key facts

• TDI's Home insurance guide lists termites, insects, rats, or mice among the risks most policies don't cover, and says coverages vary by company.
• The same TDI guide says to read your policy or talk to your agent to be sure of your exact coverages, and gives TDI's Help Line as 800-252-3439.
• TDI's homeowners insurance FAQ answers no to whether homeowners insurance covers termite or squirrel damage, saying the policy won't pay for repairs if rodents and insects chew on your house.
• Damage by rodents or insects is one of the entries in TDI's Five things your home policy won't cover, which advises inspecting your house, roof, and attic for holes you can patch.
• All-risk policies usually don't cover damage from termites, and named perils policies cover only the events listed in the policy, according to TDI's Home insurance policies: All risk or named peril.
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's Frequently Asked Questions About Subterranean Termite Control says that if you suspect termites, it's a good idea to have a professional inspect your home, and advises comparing the warranties offered by different companies carefully.
• The Texas Department of Agriculture's Structural Pest Control Service says it licenses and regulates the pest management professionals who apply pesticides in and around structures in Texas.
• The same TDI tip sheet says, about a home's condition in general, that an insurance company might inspect your house when you buy or renew a policy and could charge you more or not sell you a policy if the house is in poor condition.

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance, Home insurance guide, FAQ: Homeowners insurance, claims, saving money, and more, Five things your home policy won't cover and Home insurance policies: All risk or named peril; Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Frequently Asked Questions About Subterranean Termite Control; Texas Department of Agriculture, Structural Pest Control Service. This page is general information, not legal advice. For a question about your own policy or claim, read the policy, ask your agent, or contact the Texas Department of Insurance.

Take the next step

For termites, the next step is a practical one. Have the house inspected by a professional, compare the warranties on any treatment proposals, and ask your agent or insurer in writing how your own policy treats what you found.

While you have the policy out, check the rest of it against the house you own today. Our guide on what home insurance doesn't cover in Texas is the companion to this one, and how home insurance works in Texas covers the structure underneath it.

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