Tornado season in Texas runs March through June, peaks in May, and DFW sits squarely inside Tornado Alley's southern reach. If your homeowners policy is the standard Texas HO-3 form, tornado wind damage IS covered, but the deductible math, ALE limits, and personal property settlement basis matter A LOT when you actually file.
Here's what TAP Insurance Agency wants every Texas homeowner to know before the next storm hits.
What's covered (the easy part)
Standard Texas HO-3 policies cover wind damage from tornadoes under the windstorm peril. That includes:
1. Roof damage from wind
2. Walls, siding, and structural damage
3. Trees falling on the house (and the cost to remove them)
4. Contents inside the house damaged by wind or wind-driven rain after the structure is breached
5. Detached structures (garage, shed, fence) under the Coverage B limit (typically 10 percent of dwelling)
The deductible math nobody explains
This is where most Texas homeowners get blindsided. Texas insurers commonly write wind/hail deductibles as a PERCENTAGE of dwelling value, not a flat dollar amount.
A 1 percent wind/hail deductible on a $350,000 home = $3,500 out of pocket per claim. A 2 percent deductible = $7,000. A 5 percent deductible (common in coastal counties) = $17,500.
The deductible applies PER CLAIM. If a tornado hits in May and a hailstorm hits in July, you pay the deductible twice.
Many Texas homeowners don't know their wind/hail deductible until the first claim. Pull your declarations page now and check.
ALE — the lifeline most people forget about
Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage pays for hotels, restaurant meals, and rental costs while your home is uninhabitable. Standard HO-3 policies provide ALE up to 20 percent of dwelling coverage.
On a $350,000 dwelling, that's $70,000 of ALE. For most Texans displaced by tornado damage, $70,000 covers 6-12 months of temporary housing while contractors rebuild.
If your home is partially habitable but the contractor needs you out of the way, ALE still applies. Don't sleep in a damaged structure to save your insurer money.
The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.ACV vs RCV: the settlement language that costs you thousands
Personal property (furniture, electronics, clothes, appliances) is settled one of two ways:
ACV (Actual Cash Value) = depreciated value at time of loss. A 7-year-old TV pays out $50 instead of the $400 it costs to replace.
RCV (Replacement Cost Value) = what it costs to buy a NEW equivalent today.
Most Texas HO-3 policies default to RCV on dwelling but ACV on personal property unless you bought the RCV endorsement. Check your dec page. If it says ACV on contents, you're looking at 30-50 percent less in payout on most personal property claims.
What's NOT covered (the gotchas)
Flood damage from rising water is NEVER covered by HO-3, even if a tornado caused the flood. You need separate flood insurance through NFIP or a private flood carrier.
Mold from delayed cleanup is excluded if you waited too long to mitigate. Document damage immediately and start dryout within 72 hours.
Wind damage to fences and outdoor structures often has reduced coverage limits. Check Coverage B.
Damage to landscaping (trees, shrubs) is typically capped at 5 percent of dwelling, with per-tree limits.
The Sola gap-filler for hail-prone homes
If your wind/hail deductible is $5,000 or more, Sola Insurance offers a separate policy that pays $2,000-$25,000 of your deductible after a qualifying storm, in 3-5 days, no adjuster, no CLUE reporting.
For ~$300/year, you eliminate the financial shock of a major storm. DFW homeowners file 1-2 hail claims in any 5-year period on average, so the math works.
What to photograph BEFORE the storm
The single most useful claims-prep activity: walk your house, inside and out, and photograph everything in good condition. Time-stamped photos prove the damage came from the storm and not pre-existing wear.
Save photos to cloud storage (not just your phone). After a tornado, your phone may be the casualty.
How TAP can help
Free 15-minute homeowners review: we pull your policy, walk you through the deductible, ALE, and personal property settlement language, and tell you what's missing. If your wind/hail deductible is high, we'll quote you a Sola policy at the same time.
Call (800) 666-2254 or text (817) 646-6700.
Tornado season started in March. The smart prep is in May, before peak storms in June. Don't wait for the next news ticker to think about your policy.
TAP Insurance Agency, PLLC. Licensed in Texas and Oklahoma. Independent broker working with 15+ top-rated carriers including Bamboo, Homeowners of America, Wellington, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, and more.
