Skip to content
Contact us
Insurance Glossary · Texas Contracts

Every Texas insurance policy is a contract. We compare contract to contract.

The McDade Insurance Glossary is the front door to five product-specific references covering 242 plain-English definitions for Texas Established Homeowners. Home. Auto. Flood. TWIA. Liability. The vocabulary changes by product. The contract-to-contract standard does not. TWIA now has its own spoke because coastal wind is not the same contract as home or flood.

242
Terms Defined
5
Product Glossaries
15+
Authoritative Citations
What is the McDade Insurance Glossary?

A five-product reference for reading your Texas insurance contract honestly.

The McDade Insurance Glossary is a five-product reference covering 242 Texas insurance terms across Home, Auto, Flood, TWIA, and Liability. Each definition is written in plain English for Texas households with the specific context of Texas Insurance Code, Texas Department of Insurance rules, FEMA NFIP guidance, TWIA windstorm rules, and Houston market conditions. Every term includes why it matters at claim time, what to look for on your declarations page, and a citation to the regulatory or carrier source where applicable. The glossary uses a hub-and-spoke architecture. This page is the hub. Five product-specific spokes contain the full term definitions. The A-Z master index below shows every term across all five spokes alphabetically, with each term linking directly to its definition on the relevant spoke.

Five Product Glossaries

Five contract families. One standard.

"Every Texas household carries some combination of these contracts. The vocabulary that lives inside each one decides what gets paid when a claim hits."

Glossary 01 · Home

Home Insurance Glossary

Texas home vocabulary including ACV, RCV, Coinsurance, Coverage A through F, Roof Payment Schedule, Wind/Hail Deductible, HO-3 vs HO-5, sublimits, endorsements, TWIA, and the language Texas carriers use on home contracts in 2026.

62 terms defined plainly for Texas Established Homeowners.

Open the Home Glossary → Glossary 02 · Auto

Auto Insurance Glossary

Texas auto vocabulary including Agreed Value, Additional Driver Discovery (A.D.D.), UM/UIM, OEM parts, labor rate reimbursement, rental reimbursement structure, and the Texas Insurance Code language carriers use on auto contracts in 2026.

55 terms defined plainly for households with assets to protect.

Open the Auto Glossary → Glossary 03 · Flood

Flood Insurance Glossary

Texas flood vocabulary including Risk Rating 2.0, Elevation Certificate post-RR 2.0, Flood Zones A/V/X, NFIP coverage limits, ICC, the 30-day waiting period, and the Houston-specific flood vocabulary every coastal and inland homeowner should understand.

50 terms defined plainly under the post-2023 NFIP framework.

Open the Flood Glossary → Glossary 04 · TWIA

TWIA Insurance Glossary

Texas windstorm vocabulary including WPI-8, WPI-8-C, WPI-8-E, TWIA-802, TWIA-365, TWIA-431, percentage deductibles, moratoriums, flood requirements, and the wind-and-hail-only language coastal property owners must understand.

42 terms defined plainly for coastal Texas households and businesses.

Open the TWIA Glossary → Glossary 05 · Liability

Liability Insurance Glossary

Personal liability and umbrella vocabulary including underlying limits, defense costs inside vs outside the limit, drop-down coverage, self-insured retention, vicarious liability, and the language Established Homeowners need to read before signing the policy that protects everything else.

33 terms defined plainly for Texas asset-protection households.

Open the Liability Glossary →
The McDade Standard

Contract to contracts.

"Every insurance policy is a contract. The contract-to-contract standard means we compare your existing contract against the alternatives line by line, term by term, exclusion by exclusion. Premium comparisons alone are not enough because a lower premium often means a thinner contract underneath. About 40 percent of the time we tell clients to keep what they have. The other 60 percent is where we find a structural issue that would have cost them thousands. The McDade Insurance Glossary is the vocabulary that conversation runs on."

Charles McDade, LUTCF  ·  Founder, McDade Insurance Brokerage Group

Master Index · 242 Terms

Every Texas personal lines term in one place.

Alphabetized across all five spokes. Each term links directly to its full definition on the relevant glossary. The badges identify which product the term belongs to.

Legend Home62 terms Auto55 terms Flood50 terms TWIA42 terms Liability33 terms
How to Use This Glossary

Read your contract before you sign it.

01

Pull your declarations page.

The dec page is the summary front page of your policy. Every Home, Auto, Flood, and Umbrella policy you carry has one. Lay them all out side by side. You cannot read what you do not have in front of you.

02

Go through each dec page line by line.

For every term you see (Coverage A, Wind/Hail Deductible, ACV, UM/UIM, Per Occurrence Limit, Risk Rating 2.0, Underlying Limits), look up the definition in the relevant glossary spoke. Note any term whose meaning differs from your assumption. Note any line item missing entirely.

03

Build your own audit list.

Three columns. What you signed. What it actually means. What needs to change. Most households finish this exercise with three to seven flagged items per policy. Every flagged item is a conversation worth having before the next renewal.

04

Send the list to a licensed broker.

McDade or any other independent broker. The audit conversation that follows is the contract-to-contract standard in action. About 40 percent of the time the right answer is keep what you have. The other 60 percent is where the structural fix lives.

Read the Vocabulary. Audit the Contract.

Send your dec pages. We will tell you the truth.

Connect your current Home, Auto, Flood, TWIA, or Umbrella policy in two minutes. A licensed McDade broker reads your declarations page line by line using the same vocabulary defined across all five glossaries. You get a written audit and two real options inside one business day.

Compare My Coverage Talk to a Broker

Or call 281.378.5002

The review is advisory. No broker fees for personal lines clients.

Frequently Asked Questions

The questions worth asking before you sign.

What is the McDade Insurance Glossary?

The McDade Insurance Glossary is a five-product reference covering 242 Texas insurance terms across Home, Auto, Flood, TWIA, and Liability. Each definition is written in plain English for Texas households with the specific context of Texas Insurance Code, Texas Department of Insurance rules, FEMA NFIP guidance, TWIA windstorm rules, and Houston market conditions. Every term includes why it matters at claim time, what to look for on your declarations page, and a citation to the regulatory or carrier source where applicable.

Why does McDade publish a public insurance glossary?

Most Texas households sign their insurance contracts without understanding the language inside them. The McDade Insurance Glossary makes the vocabulary accessible to anyone, whether or not they ever become a McDade client. Reading your contract honestly is the foundation of the contract-to-contract standard McDade applies to every policy review.

What is the contract-to-contract standard?

Every insurance policy is a contract. The contract-to-contract standard means McDade compares your existing contract against the alternatives line by line, term by term, exclusion by exclusion. Premium comparisons alone are not enough because a lower premium often means a thinner contract underneath.

How is the McDade Insurance Glossary organized?

The glossary uses a hub-and-spoke architecture. This page is the hub. Five product-specific spokes contain the full term definitions. Home Insurance Glossary covers 62 terms, Auto Insurance Glossary covers 55 terms, Flood Insurance Glossary covers 50 terms, TWIA Insurance Glossary covers 42 terms, and Liability Insurance Glossary covers 33 terms.

Does the McDade Insurance Glossary cover commercial insurance?

Not yet as a standalone commercial glossary. The current glossary covers Home, Auto, Flood, TWIA, and Liability. A separate commercial insurance glossary covering Business, Workers Compensation, Cyber Liability, Builders Risk, and other commercial products is in the McDade build pipeline.

How do I use the McDade Insurance Glossary to review my own policy?

Pull your declarations page, which is the summary front page of your policy. Go through the dec page line by line. For every term you see, look up the definition in the relevant glossary spoke. Note any terms whose meaning differs from your assumption.

Are the McDade Insurance Glossary citations from authoritative sources?

Yes. Every citation points to a regulatory body, carrier, or authoritative third-party source. Primary citation sources include the Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Insurance Code, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, FEMA, the National Flood Insurance Program, and TWIA.

How often is the McDade Insurance Glossary updated?

The glossary is reviewed quarterly and updated whenever Texas Insurance Code changes, FEMA NFIP methodology updates, TWIA rules or forms change, or major carrier policy form changes occur.

Can I link to or cite the McDade Insurance Glossary in my own writing?

Yes. The McDade Insurance Glossary is a public reference and external links are welcome. Each term has a unique anchor URL that can be linked directly. Attribution to McDade Insurance Brokerage Group is appreciated but not required.

Why should I trust the McDade Insurance Glossary over other sources?

The McDade Insurance Glossary is written from active Texas broker practice across Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Beryl, Tropical Storm Allison, and the active Texas hail and coastal wind markets. Every definition is grounded in regulatory authority, FEMA guidance, TWIA guidance, named carrier policy forms, or source material that earns its place.

Educational Disclaimer

The McDade Insurance Glossary is published for general insurance education only. Definitions explain how terms commonly appear across Texas insurance policies, but they are not legal, financial, or coverage advice and do not promise how any specific policy will respond to a loss. The declarations page, policy contract, endorsements, exclusions, and carrier claim handling govern at claim time.