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Houston Home Insurance

Coverage built for the home you have already built.

Independent home insurance for Established Homeowners across Greater Houston. 50+ top Texas carriers we know well. Contract translation before claim time. No broker fees for personal lines.

Talk to a Broker Submit Your Home Renewal

No broker fees for personal lines clients. The audit is free.

The Established Homeowner's Brief

McDade Insurance Brokerage Group writes Houston home insurance for Established Homeowners. Independent. Texas-licensed. 50+ top Texas carriers we know well, backed by Premier Group Insurance's 220+ carrier network. We translate the contract before claim time. Roof Payment Schedule. Wind and hail deductibles. Coverage A. Water backup. Ordinance and law. No broker fees for personal lines clients. The audit is free.

The Houston Reality

Same Texas. Different market.

The Houston home insurance market has changed in ways most homeowners only learn about at renewal. Carriers have retreated. Deductibles have moved. Roof payment schedules have replaced the old one-time payouts. A homeowner who has not been to market in five years is, in many cases, looking at a different industry than the one that wrote their current policy.

Texas carriers have been pulling back

Encompass subsidiaries. Nationwide Private Client in 2024. AIG's restructured Private Client Group. Several Texas markets have seen carriers retreat or sharply tighten appetite. When one carrier exits, the homeowner with a single direct relationship is starting over. The McDade bench absorbs that volatility because the next carrier is already on the bench.

Houston risk is its own underwriting story

Hurricane wind. Hail. Foundation movement on Houston clay. Urban flooding distinct from FEMA flood zones. Established neighborhoods with prior claim histories. These are not corner cases. They are the Houston norm. Direct carrier algorithms struggle here. Texas-experienced brokers do not.

How We Audit Home Coverage

Four pillars. One framework.

Every Houston home policy McDade reviews runs through the same four questions. The framework was built so the audit reads the same whether the client is a first-time buyer in Cypress or an Established Homeowner in The Woodlands with three properties.

Pillar One

Clarity

Does the contract actually say what the buyer thinks it says?

Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value. Open Perils or Named Perils. Roof Payment Schedule or full replacement. Plain language inside dense policy text. We translate the contract before claim time.

Pillar Two

Probability

Which exposures actually trigger claims in this neighborhood?

Hail frequency in Cypress runs different from Bridgeland. Hurricane wind exposure in Conroe runs different from The Woodlands. We map the most probable claim types to your zip code, then audit whether the policy is built for them.

Pillar Three

Severity

If the worst happens, will the policy pay what it costs to rebuild?

Coverage A shortage is the single biggest underinsurance failure in Houston. Rebuild costs have climbed. Old policies have not kept pace. We model the worst case in dollars and check whether the limits actually cover it.

Pillar Four

Value

Does the price match the protection, or are you paying for the wrong contract?

The cheapest premium is rarely the best policy. Two policies at the same price can pay tens of thousands differently on the same claim. About 40 percent of audits end with us telling the homeowner to stay with their current carrier. The other 60 percent learn the value of moving.

Contract Translation

What we actually read before you sign.

Six places where Houston home policies pay out very differently than the homeowner expected. Read these once. Ask your current carrier the same questions.

Contract Issue 01

Replacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Value

Replacement Cost means the carrier pays what it costs to rebuild or replace today. Actual Cash Value subtracts depreciation. The same loss can settle for half the rebuild price under Actual Cash Value.

The label matters most on the dwelling and on personal property. Many Houston policies show Replacement Cost on the dwelling but Actual Cash Value on personal property. That distinction often surfaces at claim time, not before.

At claim time. A $40,000 personal property loss can settle for $18,000 under Actual Cash Value once depreciation runs through the contents.
Contract Issue 02

Roof Payment Schedule

A Roof Payment Schedule pays the roof claim on a depreciation schedule tied to roof age. The older the roof, the smaller the payout, regardless of replacement cost. Many Texas carriers moved to this model after a decade of hail and hurricane losses.

Some policies still pay full Replacement Cost on the roof up to a certain age. Some have a schedule starting at year ten. Some have no full-replacement roof coverage at all.

At claim time. A 15-year-old roof under a Payment Schedule may pay 40 to 60 percent of replacement cost. The homeowner covers the rest out of pocket.
Contract Issue 03

Wind and Hail Deductibles

In Texas, the wind and hail deductible is often separate from the all-other-perils deductible. It is frequently expressed as a percentage of Coverage A, not a flat dollar amount. One percent of a $750,000 dwelling is $7,500 out of pocket before the carrier pays.

Higher wind and hail deductibles lower the premium meaningfully. They also raise the bar a homeowner has to clear before the carrier participates in the claim.

At claim time. A 2 percent wind and hail deductible on a $900,000 home is $18,000 the homeowner pays before the first dollar of carrier coverage kicks in.
Contract Issue 04

Coverage A Shortage

Coverage A is the limit available to rebuild the dwelling. Rebuild costs in Houston have climbed every year through inflation, supply chain pressure, and code updates. Many policies written four or five years ago carry Coverage A limits that no longer match current rebuild costs.

If Coverage A is short, the carrier pays the limit. The homeowner covers the gap. Partial losses can also trigger coinsurance penalties when the policy is materially underinsured.

At claim time. A $200,000 Coverage A shortage on a total loss is $200,000 the homeowner has to find before rebuilding.
Contract Issue 05

Water Backup and Mold Sublimits

Water backup from sewers and drains is excluded from most standard Texas home policies unless added by endorsement. Mold coverage is almost always sublimited well below the main dwelling limit. Houston's drainage realities and humid climate make both of these higher-probability losses than most homeowners realize.

Water backup endorsements are inexpensive when added at the policy level. Mold sublimits vary widely between carriers, from $5,000 to $50,000 or more.

At claim time. A finished basement water backup loss can run $25,000 to $80,000. Without the endorsement, the carrier owes zero. With it, the limit determines the recovery.
Contract Issue 06

Ordinance and Law Coverage

After a major loss, current building codes apply to the rebuild even if the original home was code-compliant when built. Ordinance and Law coverage pays for the code-required upgrades the new construction requires. Without it, the homeowner covers code upgrades out of pocket.

The endorsement is typically sold in tiers of 10 percent, 25 percent, or 50 percent of Coverage A. Older Houston homes in established neighborhoods are the most likely to need it because code drift over decades is the largest.

At claim time. A 40-year-old home in The Heights rebuilt to current code can add $50,000 to $150,000 in code-upgrade costs. The endorsement determines whether the carrier covers them.
The Independent Advantage

50+ top Texas carriers we know well.

Local broker. National bench. When one carrier retreats from a Texas zip code, the next carrier is already on the bench.

50+ Top Texas Carriers We Know Well
220+ PGI Network Carrier Access
550+ PGI Agency Partners Nationwide
0 Broker Fees for Personal Lines

Most Houston independents operate with 10 to 30 carrier appointments and live at the edge of carrier production quotas. McDade operates with 50+ specialized appointments backed by Premier Group Insurance's 220+ network-wide carrier access. The volume pressure that forces smaller brokers to push the wrong product simply does not exist here.

The bench depth means coverage continuity when the Texas market shifts. If one carrier exits the state or stops writing your zip code or your roof age, McDade has somewhere to go. The relationship with the broker stays the same. The policy moves to a carrier whose appetite still fits.

The McDade Promise
I have read more Houston homeowner policies than I can count. The price almost never tells you which one pays the claim. The contract does. We translate the contract before claim time, tell you the truth even when the truth is keep what you have, and never charge a personal lines client a broker fee to do it.

Charles McDade, LUTCF

Founder, McDade Insurance Brokerage Group

Where We Write

Houston is our home market.

Every neighborhood listed below has its own exposure profile. Roof patterns. Foundation types. Hail tracks. Drainage. McDade writes home insurance across Harris County, Montgomery County, and the Greater Houston area, with dedicated coverage expertise for each.

Spring

Harris County

Home of the McDade office. Established neighborhoods, mature trees, mixed roof ages.

The Woodlands

Montgomery County

Master-planned community. Higher dwelling values, code-current rebuilds, deed restrictions affecting roof material.

Cypress

Harris County

Heavy hail track. Roof Payment Schedule audits matter here more than almost anywhere in the region.

Bridgeland

Harris County

Newer master-planned community. Code-current homes, prairie-edge exposure, drainage considerations.

Tomball

Harris County

Mix of established and newer construction. Rural-edge exposure for outlying properties.

Klein

Harris County

Established suburb. Older roof inventory, mature landscaping, varied dwelling values.

Humble

Harris County

Charles raises his family here. NASA-corridor adjacency, flood awareness, established neighborhoods.

Conroe

Montgomery County

Lake Conroe exposure. Wildfire-adjacent risk on the outer edges. Mixed roof inventory.

What Houston Homeowners Say

The work, in their words.

4.9 stars across 270+ verified reviews from Houston homeowners and Texas businesses.

 
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Which Carriers Does McDade Work With?

The Names That Actually Pay Claims

50+ top-rated carriers. One phone call to reach them all. We shop the quotes, decode the fine print, and hand you the winner.

Common Questions

Houston home insurance, asked and answered.

What does Houston home insurance cover?

A standard Texas home policy covers your dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, personal liability, and medical payments. The hidden details that matter most are replacement cost versus actual cash value, wind and hail deductibles, roof age schedules, water backup, ordinance and law, and water and mold sublimits. Flood is not included in a standard policy. McDade writes flood separately through the NFIP and private market for clients in flood-prone Houston neighborhoods.

How much does home insurance cost in Houston?

Premiums vary based on dwelling value, roof age, claim history, deductible level, credit score, and location relative to flood and hail zones. Established Homeowners with $500K and up properties typically see premiums between $2,800 and $6,500 annually before bundling discounts. The cheapest premium is not always the best policy. Two policies at the same price can pay out tens of thousands differently after the same claim. McDade translates the contract before claim time so the price you pay matches the protection you actually get.

Why use McDade instead of going direct to State Farm or Allstate?

Direct carriers sell you what they have. If your situation does not match their underwriting box, you are on your own. McDade represents 50+ top Texas carriers we know well, backed by Premier Group Insurance's network of 220+ carrier relationships. When your life changes, your coverage moves with you, not against you. Established Homeowner. Prior claim. Vacation property. Multi-home. Those are the situations where a direct carrier's algorithm hits a wall and a broker earns a seat at your table.

What does it cost to work with McDade?

Nothing. McDade does not charge a broker fee for personal lines clients. You pay your insurance premium to the carrier, the same as if you bought direct. The carrier pays McDade a commission out of that premium. The service costs you zero additional dollars. The difference is you get a Texas-licensed broker who audits the contract, knows the market, and advocates for you if a claim goes sideways.

Does McDade cover Spring, Cypress, Bridgeland, The Woodlands, Conroe, Tomball, Klein, and Humble?

Yes. McDade writes home insurance across Harris County, Montgomery County, and the Greater Houston area. Houston is our home market. Spring, Cypress, Bridgeland, The Woodlands, Conroe, Tomball, Klein, and Humble are core service areas with dedicated coverage expertise for each neighborhood's specific exposure profile.

What happens if I have a claim?

You call McDade first. The team has been through hundreds of Texas homeowner claims and we know where carriers cut corners. We help you file correctly, follow up on your behalf, and push back when an adjuster underpays. With a direct carrier, claim day is when you find out you are on your own. With McDade, claim day is when you find out why you hired us.

Why are Texas home insurance carriers pulling back?

The Texas market has absorbed a decade of hurricane and hail volatility, and several carriers have retreated from segments of the state. Encompass subsidiaries, Nationwide Private Client in 2024, and AIG's restructured Private Client Group are examples. When one carrier exits, smaller independent brokers with 10 to 30 appointments often have nowhere to go. McDade operates with 50+ specialized appointments backed by PGI's 220+ network-wide carrier access, so coverage continuity is built into the brokerage.

Know Where You Stand

Two Real Options. One Business Day.

Tell us about your home. Our team pulls your current coverage, pressure tests it against 50+ carriers, and texts you back inside one business day with the gaps we found and two real options.

About 40% of the time we tell clients to keep what they have. That's how you know you're talking to an advisor, not a salesman.

Or call our team directly 281.378.5002

Tell Us About Your Home

We respect your time and your data. One business day text-back. Zero spam. Zero phone trees.

Insurance Driven to Serve

Bring us your policy. We will translate the contract.

Send us your current home policy or your renewal notice. We will audit it line by line through the four-pillar framework and tell you whether to stay or move. About 40 percent of the time we recommend you stay with your current carrier. Either way, the audit is free, and the decision rests with you.

Talk to a Broker Submit Your Home Renewal

No broker fees for personal lines clients. The audit is free.