Wind does not negotiate. Your policy should not either.

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is the state-created insurer of last resort for wind and hail coverage in 14 designated first-tier coastal counties and the portion of Harris County east of Highway 146. TWIA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1971 after Hurricane Celia hit Corpus Christi in 1970 and most insurance companies stopped writing wind coverage in coastal Texas. TWIA writes a wind-and-hail-only policy that supplements a separate homeowners policy where wind and hail are excluded. Coastal Texas property owners who cannot obtain wind coverage from a private carrier in the standard market typically need TWIA. Properties must be in a TWIA-eligible area, must hold a TDI windstorm certificate of compliance (WPI-8), and must meet other TWIA underwriting requirements.

TWIA covers 14 first-tier coastal counties plus the part of Harris County east of Highway 146 that is inside Seabrook, La Porte, Shoreacres, Pasadena, or Morgan's Point. The 14 counties are Aransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Galveston, Jefferson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Willacy. McDade serves Galveston County, Brazoria County, Chambers County, and eastern Harris coastal communities at the relationship level. ZIP codes help triage a file, but they do not prove TWIA eligibility because ZIP boundaries can cross county, city, and Highway 146 boundaries. The legal address controls.

TWIA dwelling policies are actual cash value by default. Replacement cost coverage on a TWIA dwelling policy requires endorsement TWIA-802. Replacement cost coverage on TWIA personal property requires endorsement TWIA-365. Replacement cost coverage on a TWIA commercial policy requires endorsement TWIA-164. If these endorsements are not on the policy, the claim is processed at depreciated value. The McDade Coverage Review for any TWIA-eligible property verifies whether TWIA-802 and TWIA-365 are attached, what limits are stated, and whether the dwelling limit matches actual rebuild cost rather than a number that was lowered to reduce the premium quote.

The TWIA residential dwelling coverage limit is statutorily capped at 1,773,000 dollars. Households in Galveston, Brazoria, or other TWIA territory with rebuild costs above that cap require a private excess wind policy in addition to TWIA to close the gap. McDade evaluates excess wind options through Premier Group Insurance carrier access for higher-value coastal homes. The dwelling limit on the actual TWIA policy must match the home's rebuild cost up to the statutory cap. Many agents quote competitively by lowering the dwelling limit below the rebuild cost, which leaves the homeowner underinsured at claim time. McDade does not do that.

The WPI-8 is the Texas Department of Insurance windstorm certificate of compliance that confirms a property in the TWIA designated catastrophe area was built or repaired to applicable windstorm building code. WPI-8 is issued by TDI. WPI-8-E is the engineer-issued equivalent. WPI-8-C is the TWIA-issued certificate for certain compliant properties. A current WPI-8 is mandatory for TWIA eligibility and is required for any new roof or structural repair on a TWIA-insured property. If a roof is replaced after a storm without obtaining a new WPI-8, the property may lose TWIA eligibility at the next policy renewal. McDade verifies WPI-8 status as part of every TWIA coverage review.

No. TWIA covers wind and hail damage only. Flood damage and storm surge from a hurricane are explicitly excluded from TWIA policies. Coastal Texas property owners need separate flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood market. After Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and Hurricane Beryl in 2024, many coastal Texas claims involved both wind damage (paid by TWIA or a private wind carrier) and flood damage (paid by NFIP if the policy was in force). The layered coverage reality is part of why a coastal Texas household typically carries three policies. A homeowners policy with wind and hail excluded, a TWIA or excess wind policy for the wind, and a flood policy through NFIP or a private flood market for the flood.

TWIA applies a percentage deductible against the dwelling coverage limit, typically one percent, two percent, or five percent of the dwelling limit, with one percent being the most common selection. On a dwelling limit of 350,000 dollars, a one percent deductible is 3,500 dollars, a two percent deductible is 7,000 dollars, and a five percent deductible is 17,500 dollars. The deductible applies per occurrence, meaning each named storm or hail event resets the deductible. The deductible selection affects both the premium and the claim-time financial reality. McDade walks through the trade-off rather than defaulting to the lowest premium quote.

Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Matagorda on July 8, 2024 as a Category 1 hurricane. TWIA received more than 31,000 claims from Beryl, most concentrated in Galveston and Brazoria counties, and the ultimate Beryl loss estimate reached 455 million dollars by September 30, 2024. Beryl combined with spring 2024 storms produced 462.7 million dollars in TWIA claims, the third-largest claims event in TWIA's history. Beryl fully depleted TWIA's Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund, which held 451 million dollars before the storm. TWIA entered 2025 with a 413.5 million dollar deficit. Texas House Bill 3689 in 2025 restructured TWIA funding and produced a zero percent rate increase for 2026 policies. Texas House Bill 2518 banned third-party premium financing for TWIA, replacing it with direct interest-free payment plans.

TWIA must pay a claim within 10 days after accepting coverage and receiving all requested documentation from the policyholder. The Texas Insurance Code Section 542 prompt-payment framework applies. For actual cash value policies without the TWIA-802 endorsement, the depreciation recovery documentation window is 60 days. For replacement cost policies with TWIA-802, depreciation recovery documentation must be submitted within 545 days of receiving the initial actual cash value payment. The McDade Coverage Review verifies whether the policy is structured to maximize the claim-time outcome rather than minimize the upfront premium.

Yes. McDade handles the full lifecycle including initial policy placement, renewal review, mid-term endorsements, WPI-8 verification, and claim documentation support after a wind or hail event. About 40 percent of the time we review a TWIA policy, we tell the client to stay with their current TWIA placement or current agent, because that is the right answer for the family. The other 60 percent of the time we identify a structural improvement in the dwelling limit, the TWIA-802 endorsement, the personal property coverage, the deductible structure, the excess wind layering, or the homeowners and flood coordination. The McDade work is reading the contract before the storm so the claim conversation goes the right way.