Everything may be bigger in Texas, but that doesn’t mean Texans should overpay for homeowners insurance. The average cost of homeowners insurance in the Lone Star State is $3,686 per year for a policy with a $1,000 deductible and $300,000 in dwelling coverage — much higher than the national average of $2,532.
Texas homes are vulnerable to different natural disasters, including hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and tornadoes, which makes it especially important for homeowners to have the right type of insurance coverage. Here’s what you need to know about comparing home insurance quotes and finding coverage in Texas.
Flooding is a potential problem for Texas homes, but standard homeowners insurance policies don’t cover flooding.1
Texas has one of the highest average monthly rates for homeowners insurance in the country.
The average cost to rebuild a home in Texas ranges from less than $200,000 to well over $1 million, depending on location.
Best home insurance companies in Texas
Texas has plenty of home insurance companies to choose from. The right home insurance for you will depend on your specific situation and insurance needs, so it’s a good idea to shop around and compare quotes.
The following are among the best homeowners insurance companies in Texas.
Our editorial team spent more than 350 hours developing the Insurify Quality (IQ) Score and scoring insurance companies. The IQ Score objectively analyzes and calculates a score for insurers using more than 15 crucial criteria. The team weighted criteria by importance to the consumer — factors such as customer reviews and affordability influence the score more than availability and third-party ratings.
We rate each company on a 1 to 10 scale based on five categories: financial ratings, customer satisfaction, affordability, customer support and transparency, and availability. Insurify updates ratings once a year or as more recent information becomes available.
- Third-party financial ratings: Insurify uses data from AM Best, S&P, Moody’s, and more to compare insurance companies’ credit and ability to pay out future claims.
- Customer satisfaction: To calculate this score, Insurify analyzed more than 55,000 customer reviews across 155 car insurance companies. We also consider third-party ratings from J.D. Power, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and Trustpilot.
- Affordability: Our data scientists analyzed more than 90 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partners across the U.S., as well as available discounts, to calculate an affordability score.
- Customer support and transparency: This measures coverage options, ease of claims filing, and the insurer's transparency surrounding discounts, coverages, and claims process.
- Availability and reach: Insurify scores availability and reach by identifying the number of states in which insurers offer coverage and company size by market share.
Cheapest rates: Farmers
Best insurer for bundling: Mercury
Best insurer for customer satisfaction: State Farm
Best insurer for online tools: Nationwide
Cheapest home insurance in Texas
The cheapest home insurance in Texas won’t be the same for every homeowner. That’s because different factors, like ZIP code, age of your home, claims history, credit record, types of coverage, and your chosen deductible, can all affect how much you pay. Additionally, each insurer uses a different formula for determining premium rates, so it pays to shop around.
In Texas, USAA is the cheapest home insurance company, with an average monthly premium of $212 for $300,000 of dwelling coverage. Other inexpensive insurers in Texas include those in the table below.
Cost of homeowners insurance in Texas
Home insurance premiums in Texas cost an average of $3,686 per year, for a policy with a $1,000 deductible and $300,000 in dwelling coverage. Although this isn’t the most expensive average cost for homeowners insurance in the nation, it’s among the highest premium prices in the country.
The relatively high cost of homeowners insurance in Texas is partially due to its location. The second-largest state in America experiences a variety of perils, including flooding, hurricanes, tropical storms, wildfires, and tornadoes, and these can cause devastating property damage.
But different factors can affect your premium costs in Texas, including the age of your home and its replacement cost, your area’s labor costs, your claims history, and your deductible amount.2
Cost of homeowners insurance by dwelling coverage amount
Dwelling coverage is the part of a home insurance policy that pays to repair or rebuild your home if it’s damaged in a covered event.
A common mistake homeowners make is assuming they should get dwelling coverage equal to their home’s purchase price. But repairing or rebuilding your home may cost more or less than what you paid for it, depending on the price of building supplies and labor, among other costs.3
For example, the average cost to rebuild a home in Texas ranges from around $220,000 in Wichita Falls up to nearly $750,000 in Missouri City.
That’s why it’s important to understand the cost of rebuilding your home so that you can get the right amount of dwelling coverage. The higher the coverage limits you choose for your dwelling coverage, the more you’ll pay in premiums. Rates shown in the table below are for Texas home insurance policies with a $1,000 deductible.
Cost of homeowners insurance by deductible
Your home insurance deductible is the amount of money you have to pay before your insurance kicks in. A low deductible means you pay less when you make a claim before the insurance policy covers the rest. But keeping a low deductible usually means paying higher premiums.
Raising your deductible lowers your premium amount, which can be an easy way to reduce your home insurance costs. Just make sure you don’t increase your deductible to an amount that you can’t afford if you make a claim.
Here’s how a deductible can change the annual premium of a Texas home insurance policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage.
How to get cheap homeowners insurance in Texas
Texas homeowners can use different strategies to lower the cost of their homeowners insurance. Here are some of the most effective ways to save on home insurance policies:
Bundle homeowners and auto insurance. Many insurers offer discounts to customers who purchase more than one type of policy with them. Choosing an insurance company that can handle both your home and auto insurance can save you money on both policies.
Improve your home’s safety and disaster readiness. Insurance companies often offer discounts to homeowners who improve their home’s security with things like smoke detectors, burglar alarms, and deadbolts. Some homeowners even get discounts when they invest in disaster preparedness, with features like storm shutters or reinforced roofing.3
Maintain good credit. The Texas Department of Insurance allows insurers to use credit history to help set homeowners insurance premium rates.4 Improving and maintaining good credit can help you save money on your home insurance and improve your finances in general.
Increase your deductible. Increasing your deductible amount is one of the most efficient ways to quickly lower your premiums. Just make sure you’re prepared to pay the higher deductible amount if you need to make a claim.
How much homeowners insurance do you need in Texas?
When you take out a mortgage on a home in Texas, the mortgage company will require you to purchase a home insurance policy. Texans should aim to have enough replacement cost coverage to rebuild their home in case of a catastrophe, as natural disasters commonly affect the Lone Star State.
Different home insurance policies will work better for different homeowners. Your location, the value of your home, and the current cost of construction materials are all important factors to keep in mind when choosing a homeowners policy. Since each home has different risk factors or potential perils, it’s important to compare quotes from at least three different insurance companies before purchasing your policy.
It’s also important to understand exactly what your home insurance policy covers when you buy it. You need to know if the policy covers everything you need it to cover or if you need to purchase supplemental policies for things like flooding, hurricane damage, or wildfire damage.
What are some of the biggest risks when owning a home in Texas?
Owning a home always comes with risks, but the specific risks vary depending on where you live. Some of the most common natural disasters in the Lone Star State can cause serious damage to your home, and your homeowners insurance may or may not cover them. It pays to be prepared for the most common perils in Texas:
Texas homeowners insurance FAQs
Here’s Insurify’s guide on buying home insurance to help you choose a policy. You can also check out the additional information about home insurance coverage in Texas below.
How much is home insurance in Texas?
The average cost of home insurance in Texas is $3,686 per year, for a policy with $3,000 in dwelling coverage and a $1,000 deductible. But depending on where you live in the state, you may need to purchase additional coverages, like flood and windstorm/hail damage policies, which can increase your overall property insurance costs.
Which company has the cheapest homeowners insurance in Texas?
USAA is the cheapest home insurance company in Texas and has average premiums of $212 per month.
Does Texas require homeowners insurance?
No. Texas doesn’t have any laws that require homeowners to purchase insurance for their homes, but your mortgage company will require it. Even if you don’t have a mortgage, home insurance is one of the most important financial protections you can purchase. It helps pay to repair or rebuild your home, and personal liability policies in your home insurance coverage can pay for legal fees and medical costs if someone is hurt on your property and sues you.
Why is homeowners insurance so high in Texas?
As a state on the Gulf of Mexico, Texas is vulnerable to severe tropical weather events, like hurricanes and tropical storms, which can damage homes. Plus, flooding is one of the most common disasters in the state, which can drive up home insurance prices.5 To protect your home from flood damage, you’ll need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy, which will increase your overall insurance costs.