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

Published July 10, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026

How to choose home insurance in Texas

If you're asking which home insurance company do you recommend, start one step earlier, with how to choose coverage that fits your home and your budget. This guide walks through that choice in five steps, drawing on what the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) tells shoppers.

To choose home insurance in Texas, settle your coverage amount and deductible, check the company, then compare quotes. TDI's home insurance shopping checklist says to consider what it would cost to rebuild your home, get price quotes from several companies, look at a company's complaint record and make sure the company is licensed. TDI's deductibles page says to think about how much you can afford to pay if your property is damaged, and TDI's Shopping smart guide says a financial rating shows how strong a company is financially.

In this guide, we'll walk you through:

• How to assess your coverage needs based on your home and location
• What to look for in deductibles, including wind/hail percentage deductibles
• How to check a carrier's financial strength and complaint record
• How to compare quotes from several carriers, using TDI's tools or a licensed agency

Step 1: Assess your coverage needs

Choosing home insurance in Texas starts with how much coverage your home and belongings need. TDI's home insurance guide puts it this way: "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, the same guide says, you pay the difference yourself. Start by asking:

• What would it cost to rebuild my home? TDI's home insurance shopping checklist says to consider what it would cost to rebuild your home.
• Does where I live change what the policy covers? On the Texas coast or in Harris County on Galveston Bay, a home policy might not cover wind and hail damage, according to TDI's home insurance guide. The guide says the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) sells wind and hail coverage for coastal residents, and that you buy TWIA coverage from local insurance agents. Depending on where you live, it adds, you might need flood insurance or a home inspection before TWIA will sell you a policy.
• Do I own expensive items? Home policies limit what they pay for things like jewelry and art, the TDI guide says. If you own expensive items, it suggests talking to your agent about adding more coverage.
• How much could I pay toward a claim? Your answer sets the deductible to look for, which Step 2 covers.

Step 2: Understand deductibles, including wind/hail percentage deductibles

A home insurance deductible in Texas can be a flat dollar amount or a percentage. TDI's deductibles page states: "A deductible may be a specific dollar amount or a percentage." It then says to make sure you know how a percentage translates to a dollar amount.

• Dollar deductibles. A fixed dollar amount comes off the claim. In the TDI example, a policy with a $500 deductible pays $6,000 toward $6,500 in roof repairs after a hail storm.
• Percentage deductibles. The TDI example works the percentage out on the amount the home is insured for. On a home insured for $150,000, a 5 percent deductible is $7,500, so that policy would not pay anything toward the same $6,500 in roof repairs. For the full breakdown, including where to find yours, see how the wind and hail deductible works.
• Applied per claim. For home and auto policies, the deductible is applied to each claim, the deductibles page says.
• Flood and earthquake. TDI's home insurance guide lists flooding and earthquakes or earth movement among the damages its table says most policies don't cover. The same guide says coverages vary by company, and to talk to your home insurance agent about getting a flood policy.

The trade-off is the same whichever type you have. The deductibles page says: "In general, the higher the deductible, the lower the cost for the policy." Its advice is to think about how much you can afford to pay if your property is damaged. In practice, that means turning any percentage deductible into dollars and checking that figure against what you could pay before you accept the lower price.

Tip: ask each carrier how it handles the wind/hail deductible on your home, and whether a different deductible is available at a different premium.

Not sure how your deductible really stacks up? Credify shows you how different carriers handle wind and hail deductibles for your home, side by side. Compare with Credify →

Step 3: Check the carrier's financial strength

Before you buy a Texas home insurance policy, check the carrier's financial rating and its license. A company's financial rating shows how strong the company is financially, according to TDI's Shopping smart guide, and the rating comes from an independent rating service.

• Financial rating. The Shopping smart guide says you can learn a company's rating by calling the TDI Help Line or using TDI's company lookup. TDI's company lookup page points to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' company search tool for reports on complaints, financials, and licensing.
• License. TDI's home insurance shopping checklist says to make sure the company is licensed, and that you can call the TDI Help Line at 800-252-3439 to see if a company is licensed. The Shopping smart guide warns that if you buy from an unlicensed company, your claims could go unpaid.

Both checks can be made through the same TDI Help Line, so one call covers the rating and the license.

Step 4: Read reviews — but read them critically

Customer reviews of a Texas home insurance company are one input, and TDI publishes complaint data you can read beside them. TDI's general shopping tips say to call the Help Line to check a company's complaint record before buying a policy, and add: "A good price is only a bargain if you also get good service."

• Complaint index. TDI's Shopping smart guide says of a company: "Its complaint index is a measure of its customer service."
• Where the numbers are. TDI's complaint data page links to a data set of complaint indexes and policy counts for insurance companies. The page describes it as counts of confirmed complaints and policies in force, by company name and line of coverage.

Because that data set pairs complaint counts with policies in force, you can read a company's complaints against its size, which a page of reviews does not show.

Step 5: Compare quotes from several carriers

Comparing quotes from several Texas home insurance companies matters because companies differ on whether they will sell you a policy and on what they charge. TDI's home insurance guide says each company's underwriting rules are different, which means one company might be willing to sell you a policy even if another isn't, and that different companies charge different rates. The Shopping smart guide adds that a cheaper policy might provide less coverage, so compare what each quote covers as well as its price.

TDI offers its own comparison tools. TDI's home insurance shopping checklist says to get price quotes from several companies using HelpInsure.com, then contact your top choices for actual price quotes and use TDI's comparison worksheet to compare policies. TDI's homeowners shopping tips describe HelpInsure as TDI's tool for getting sample prices and comparing policies. The Shopping smart guide says HelpInsure.com compares rates and coverages for the companies that sell the most insurance policies in Texas.

A licensed agency that works with several carriers is another way to compare:

• Several carriers in one place. Credify surveys roughly 20 licensed Texas carriers for home, auto and bundled insurance from one quick form, web chat or phone call, 24/7. (See our comparison of independent agency vs. direct carriers for the full picture.)
• Texas-specific knowledge. Texas home insurance is Credify's area of expertise, including how different carriers handle wind and hail coverage.

If you do switch, TDI's homeowners shopping tips say: "Never cancel a policy until you get your new policy or a written statement of coverage."

The bottom line

Choose home insurance in Texas by fitting the coverage to your home, your budget and your risk tolerance. Assess your needs, understand your deductible, check the carrier's financial rating, license and complaint record, read reviews beside the complaint data, and compare quotes from several carriers, using TDI's HelpInsure, a licensed agency or both.

Key facts

• According to TDI's home insurance guide, coverage should be enough to replace your home and property after a total loss, and home policies limit what they pay for things like jewelry and art.
• TDI's deductibles page says a deductible can be a dollar amount or a percentage. In its example, a 5 percent deductible on a home insured for $150,000 is $7,500.
• The same deductibles page says that, in general, a higher deductible means a lower cost for the policy, and that home policy deductibles are applied to each claim.
• TDI's Shopping smart guide says a financial rating shows a company's financial strength and a complaint index measures its customer service.
• TDI's home insurance shopping checklist says to get price quotes from several companies using HelpInsure.com, look at a company's complaint record and make sure the company is licensed.
• TDI's home insurance guide says that on the Texas coast or in Harris County on Galveston Bay, a home policy might not cover wind and hail damage. It says TWIA sells that coverage for coastal residents and that, depending on where you live, you might need flood insurance or a home inspection before TWIA will sell you a policy.
• When switching, TDI's homeowners shopping tips say not to cancel a policy until you have the new policy or a written statement of coverage.

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance, Home insurance guide, How to shop smart for home insurance, What to know about deductibles, Shopping smart: Tips for buying auto and home insurance, Tips to help you shop for homeowners insurance, How to shop smart for insurance, Look up an insurance company, Complaint data resources and the home insurance comparison worksheet; Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.

Take the next step

A useful move today is to compare your home insurance options across several licensed Texas carriers. It's a direct way to see what fits your home.

Get a second opinion on your policy — free. Credify is a licensed insurance agency in Texas that helps you compare home insurance from roughly 20 licensed Texas carriers, so you can see whether your coverage, deductibles and carrier fit your needs. It takes a few minutes, and there's no obligation. 📞 Talk to Credify 24/7.

We compare quotes from multiple licensed Texas carriers; each insurer has sole responsibility for its products.

Credify is a licensed insurance agency in Texas. License TX #3309669 · NPN 21516523.

Coverage varies by insurer. Please review policy documents for complete details.