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

Published July 20, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026

Is the Texas FAIR Plan worth it as a last resort?

If insurers have turned you down for home insurance, someone may have mentioned the Texas FAIR Plan. This guide sets out what the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) and the Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA) say about what the plan is, who can get it, what it leaves out, and how to apply.

The short version. The Texas FAIR Plan is an insurer of last resort offering limited coverage, according to its Coverage & Eligibility page. TDI's Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas says you must have been turned down by two insurance companies to get a FAIR Plan policy, and won't qualify if a company has offered you a policy or renewal. Whether a FAIR Plan policy is worth it is your call.

What the Texas FAIR Plan is

The Texas FAIR Plan Association is a residual market carrier for property insurance in Texas, in the words of its Coverage & Eligibility page, which also calls it an insurer of last resort. TDI's Home insurance page describes who it is for: "The Texas FAIR Plan Association (FAIR Plan) offers home insurance policies to those who are unable to get insurance through regular insurance companies."

Two TDI pages describe the kinds of property slightly differently. TDI's Home insurance page says the FAIR Plan gives limited coverage for one- and two-family homes, townhouses, and condominiums. TDI's Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas says you can apply if you own a house, townhouse, condo, or manufactured home, that the FAIR Plan also sells renters insurance, and that to get a policy you must have been turned down by two insurance companies and won't qualify if a company has offered you a policy or renewal.

Location matters too. TFPA's Coverage & Eligibility page says TFPA is not authorized to provide windstorm and hail insurance for properties eligible for coverage through the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), and that someone who lives in the TWIA coverage area and qualifies for TFPA may have to carry both a TFPA and a TWIA policy.

In plain terms, the FAIR Plan is a separate route to home insurance with its own entry rules, and TFPA describes its coverage as not as comprehensive as coverage available through the voluntary market. The sections below take the entry rules and the coverage in turn.

Who qualifies

TDI ties eligibility for a Texas FAIR Plan policy to having been turned down by two insurance companies and having no offer of a policy or renewal, and the property must also meet TFPA's underwriting guidelines. TDI's Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas states its two conditions together: "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."

The three sources word the conditions differently:

The property and the applicant are also reviewed. According to TFPA's Coverage & Eligibility page, applications are subject to underwriting guidelines and an applicant may be denied coverage for any of these reasons:

• Property condemned due to its condition
• Property in disrepair or with existing damage
• Vacant property
• Property with excessive or unusual liability exposure, with a dangerous animal or a pool or trampoline not within a fenced yard given as examples
• An applicant with a conviction for arson, fraud, or other insurance related offenses
• An applicant with more than eight paid claims, excluding glass claims, within the past three years
• A mobile home, unless the wheels are removed and the mobile home is tied down
• A farm or ranch used for business, or any residential dwelling occupied for business use

A FAIR Plan policy also comes with a recurring condition. The same TFPA page says: "A policyholder must reapply for coverage in the voluntary market every two years."

What a FAIR Plan policy does not cover

A Texas FAIR Plan policy covers less than a policy from the voluntary market, according to the Texas FAIR Plan Association itself, and under TDI's Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas it is open only to someone who has been turned down by two insurance companies and has not been offered a policy or renewal by a company. TFPA's Coverage & Eligibility page states that "coverage available through the Texas FAIR Plan Association is not as comprehensive as coverage available through the voluntary market" and then names the gaps. TFPA says it offers policies with limited coverage and does not cover these perils, which it notes other insurers may provide:

• Falling trees or limbs, and falling objects
• Collapse of a building or a part of a building
• Breakage of glass
• Damage from the weight of ice, snow or sleet
• Freezing of plumbing, heating, air conditioning or automatic fire protective sprinkler systems, or of a household appliance
• Mold, fungi or other microbe remediation, with TFPA's note that insurers provide or offer this coverage for the basic perils
• Back up of sewer or drains
• Items that may be scheduled, such as expensive jewelry
• Sudden and accidental discharge of water or steam, with TFPA's note that for an additional premium charge a limited coverage endorsement may be added to its Homeowners, Tenant, and Condominium policy forms

The list is a summary on a web page, so read the policy form for the details. If you are comparing a FAIR Plan policy with one you held before, the practical exercise is to go through this list item by item and note which of those losses your previous policy addressed.

TDI also describes what an agent might raise if the FAIR Plan's limits fall short. Its Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas page says that if you need more insurance than a FAIR Plan policy provides, your agent might suggest surplus lines insurance, which it describes as a special type of insurance that covers unique risks, like hard-to-insure houses. The page adds a caution: "Surplus lines insurance has fewer consumer protections than typical home insurance."

How to apply

A Texas FAIR Plan application goes through an agent, and it is open only to someone who meets the eligibility rules: TDI's Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas says you must have been turned down by two insurance companies, that you won't qualify if a company has offered you a policy or renewal, and that you should contact an agent to find a FAIR Plan policy.

TFPA's Coverage & Eligibility page gives the detail. It says TFPA does not sell policies directly to the public, does not have agents of its own, and accepts applications submitted by any licensed property and casualty agent who meets its minimum requirements and performance standards. The page points readers to TFPA's Find an Agent page for an authorized agent in their area, and it links to TFPA's proof of declination requirements and form.

So the first practical step is finding an agent who is authorized with TFPA, and having your declinations on hand when you do.

So — is it worth it?

Whether a Texas FAIR Plan policy is worth it is a judgement about your own home, budget and alternatives, and this guide does not make it for you. What the sources supply is the set of facts to weigh. TDI's Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas says you must have been turned down by two insurance companies and won't qualify if a company has offered you a policy or renewal, and TFPA's Coverage & Eligibility page adds underwriting criteria.

Steps you can take while you weigh it:

• Check where you stand on eligibility. Count your declinations and any offers against the wording in the table above, since TDI's Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas says you won't qualify if a company has offered you a policy or renewal.
• Read the list of perils not covered. TFPA names them on its Coverage & Eligibility page, and you can estimate what each of those losses could cost you if it happened.
• Ask about the water discharge endorsement. According to TFPA, a limited coverage endorsement may be added, for an additional premium charge, to its Homeowners, Tenant, and Condominium policy forms.
• Know the two-year condition. TFPA requires that a policyholder must reapply for coverage in the voluntary market every two years.

If you are here because of a nonrenewal, TDI's blog post Home insurance not renewed? You have options is written for that situation specifically. It suggests getting sample rates on TDI's HelpInsure.com, following up with companies directly for quotes, and working with an independent agent who can help compare policies from different companies. On timing, that post says the company must tell you about nonrenewal 60 days before your policy ends.

The same post then places the FAIR Plan after those steps: "If at least two companies decline to insure your home, you may buy a policy through the state’s provider of last resort, the Texas FAIR Plan Association." That sentence does not repeat the second condition from TDI's Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas, which is that you won't qualify if a company has offered you a policy or renewal.

Shopping does not mean a company will offer you a policy.

Key facts

• TDI's Home insurance page says the FAIR Plan gives limited coverage for one- and two-family homes, townhouses, and condominiums, and that to be able to get it you must have been told by at least two insurance companies that they will not give you coverage and must not have gotten an offer for the same level of coverage from any insurance company.
• To get a FAIR Plan policy, according to TDI's Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas, you must have been turned down by two insurance companies, and you won't qualify if a company has offered you a policy or renewal.
• TFPA's Coverage & Eligibility page words it this way: applicants must have been denied by at least two insurance companies licensed to write and actually writing property insurance in Texas, and are not eligible with a current property policy, a renewal offer, or a valid offer of comparable property insurance from an insurance company licensed in Texas.
• For someone who meets those conditions (at least two declinations and no offer of a policy or renewal), the same TFPA page describes its policies as having limited coverage and lists perils they do not cover, including falling trees or limbs, collapse, breakage of glass, weight of ice, snow or sleet, freezing of plumbing, mold remediation, and back up of sewer or drains, which it notes other insurers may provide.
• A FAIR Plan policyholder, who must first have met the declination and no-offer conditions above, must reapply for coverage in the voluntary market every two years, according to TFPA's Coverage & Eligibility page.
• TFPA does not sell policies directly to the public and applicants may only apply through an agent, per its Coverage & Eligibility page, and its eligibility rules (denied by at least two insurance companies, with no current policy, renewal offer, or valid offer of comparable coverage) apply to every application.
• TDI's Home insurance not renewed? You have options, a post about nonrenewal, says the company must tell you about nonrenewal 60 days before your policy ends.

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance, Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas, Home insurance, and Home insurance not renewed? You have options; Texas FAIR Plan Association, Coverage & Eligibility.

Take the next step

If you landed here after a non-renewal, our guide on what to do about a home insurance non-renewal in Texas walks through the steps, and how to choose home insurance in Texas covers what to weigh when you compare policies.

The comparison below covers quotes from licensed Texas carriers. It is not a FAIR Plan application. Under TDI's Other ways to get auto, home, and wind insurance in Texas, a FAIR Plan policy requires having been turned down by two insurance companies and is ruled out if a company has offered you a policy or renewal, and TFPA's Coverage & Eligibility page states that applications go through an agent authorized with TFPA. Comparing quotes does not mean a carrier will offer you a policy.

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 home coverage fits your needs. It takes a few minutes, and there's no obligation. 📞 Talk to Credify 24/7.

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