Guide
Water damage and insurance in Texas
This site does not handle claims and cannot tell you what your policy pays for. It can point you to what the Texas Department of Insurance tells consumers, so you know what to ask.
How Texas policies usually work
Sudden versus gradual
Most home and renters policies cover sudden and accidental water damage. Gradual leaks usually aren't covered (TDI).
Flood needs its own policy
Most home policies don't cover floods. Flood coverage comes through your insurer or the National Flood Insurance Program, usually after a 30-day wait (TDI guide).
Optional add-ons
TDI lists endorsements for damage to foundations or slabs, backup of sewers or drains, and mold removal.
Mold
Mold on a covered damaged item can be covered; cleanup and testing usually aren't unless you added that coverage.
Hidden leaks
Water damage that was hidden usually has to be reported within days of when you first see it.
Keep the evidence
Don't throw away damaged items or make permanent repairs until the insurer has seen the damage.
Texas claim timeline
What the insurer must do
Acknowledge
Tell you it received the claim within 15 days. It may ask for a signed, notarized proof of loss.
Decide
Accept or deny within 15 business days of getting everything it needs from you, or up to 45 days if it says it needs more time.
Pay
Send payment within five business days of agreeing to pay.
Public adjusters and contractors
According to the TDI home insurance guide, public adjusters work for you rather than the insurer, charge a fee, must hold a TDI license, and can't give legal advice or take part in repairing your property.
TDI suggests having your contractor at the adjuster's inspection so the two can talk about the estimate. Keep in mind the contractor's job is the repair; the claim itself stays between you and your insurer.
Before you sign
Questions for the contractor
- What will be removed, dried and replaced, room by room?
- Will I get the daily moisture readings and photos?
- Who pulls any permits the repairs need?
- How is the price set, and how is extra work priced?
- What is due when, and is anything due before work starts?
- If mold is involved, which TDLR license numbers apply?
Leak, flood, smoke or mold
Talk it through with a San Antonio restoration contractor
Say where the water came from, which rooms it reached and roughly when it started. The contractor on the line can tell you what an inspection would look at and what they charge for it.
Water where it shouldn't be? Make one call.
The call goes to an independent restoration contractor that takes work in your part of Bexar County or the nearby suburbs.
Call (210) 750-1322Calls may be recorded for quality. How the line is paid: referral disclosure. What is kept: privacy.