Homeowners Insurance Non-Renewal in Texas: What Dallas Sellers and Buyers Must Know in 2026

What should Dallas sellers and buyers do if homeowners insurance is non-renewed in Texas?

Texas homeowners insurance carriers are quietly exiting DFW hail zones, and non-renewals surged 269% in a single year. If you're selling, a new July 2026 TREC disclosure rule requires you to tell buyers if you've been unable to obtain coverage. If you're buying, discovering a property isn't insurable at standard rates during your option period can kill the deal or cost you thousands more per year than you budgeted. In both cases, the move is to address insurability early — not the week before closing.

By Paul Blair | July 15, 2026

If you own a home in Frisco, McKinney, Allen, or Plano, there's a meaningful chance your insurance carrier has already decided to stop writing policies in your zip code — or is about to.

This is not an abstract risk. Texas homeowners insurance non-renewals jumped 269% in one year. Progressive stopped writing new homeowners policies in Texas in 2024 and has been non-renewing existing policyholders in certain areas. Lemonade stopped selling homeowners and condo policies in multiple Texas counties. More than 120,000 Texas homeowners are now on the Texas FAIR Plan — the state's insurer of last resort — and that number keeps growing.

If you're in the middle of a transaction — either selling or buying — this matters to you right now.

Why Carriers Are Exiting DFW's Hail Zones

The math is simple, even if the outcome is painful.

A catastrophic hailstorm swept through the Dallas-Fort Worth area in April 2024 and generated $9 billion in insured losses across North Texas. That figure sits on top of a string of major hail events that already stretched underwriters thin. When carriers run their catastrophe models, a specific corridor keeps showing up: Frisco, McKinney, Allen, and Plano. High-value homes, high rebuild costs, and dense hail frequency combine in a way that makes several insurers unwilling to stay.

It's not that your individual home is necessarily a bad risk. It's that the zip code it sits in has crossed a threshold where the carrier's total exposure becomes unprofitable, and the fastest way to reduce exposure is to stop renewing policies.

The result for homeowners is a narrowing market. What used to be a five-minute phone call to your current agent now takes a week of shopping, and some homeowners find out — sometimes mid-transaction — that the standard market isn't available to them at all.

The New 2026 Rules You Need to Know

Two regulatory changes took effect this year, and both directly affect real estate transactions.

HB 2067 became law on January 1, 2026. Under it, every Texas property and casualty insurance carrier is now required to provide a written explanation when they decline, cancel, or non-renew a policy. If your policy was bought or renewed in 2024 or later, the carrier must give you at least 60 days' notice before non-renewal — up from 30 days on older policies. This gives you time to shop, but 60 days can disappear fast when you're also managing a listing or a home purchase.

TREC Form 55-0, updated July 1, 2026, added a new insurance disclosure requirement: sellers must now disclose on the Seller's Disclosure Notice whether they have been unable to obtain homeowners insurance on the property. This is a material fact that buyers now see before they go under contract. If you've been declined by two or more carriers, or if you're currently on the FAIR Plan, that information is part of the disclosure.

These two changes together mean that insurance isn't just a post-offer logistics question anymore. It's a front-of-transaction data point.

If You're Selling a Dallas Home

If your insurance has been non-renewed, or if you've recently been told your premium is jumping significantly because of your roof or claims history, you need to address it before you list — not during the option period.

Here's why: a buyer who discovers during their option period that the home they're under contract on can't be insured at a standard rate has clean grounds to walk. They'll get their earnest money back, and you'll be back to square one with a disclosure on the form telling every future buyer the same thing.

The better path is to get ahead of it. A few things worth doing before you list:

• Pull your CLUE report. Your Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange report shows five to seven years of insurance claims on the property. Buyers, lenders, and carriers all use it. Know what's on it before someone else tells you.
• Assess your roof. Roofs older than 15 years are the single most common reason carriers decline to write a new policy in DFW. If yours is in that range, get a roofer's assessment. Replacing with a Class 4 impact-resistant shingle can reopen the standard market — and some carriers will reduce your premium by 15–30% for it.
• Document your current coverage. If you have a policy in place, keep it active through closing. A lapse — even a few days — gives your lender grounds to force-place insurance, and force-placed policies in DFW have cost homeowners $8,000 to $12,000 per year for coverage that doesn't even include personal property or liability.
• Disclose accurately. The updated TREC Form 55-0 requires disclosure of insurance issues. Your listing agent should know this so it's handled correctly from the start.

If the property is currently on the FAIR Plan and you've been listing at the same price as comparable homes with standard insurance, expect buyers to factor in the premium difference. A $400,000 home insured through the FAIR Plan at $6,000 per year costs a buyer roughly $200 more per month than the same home at a standard $3,500 policy — and that affects how much mortgage they can comfortably carry.

For more on DFW hail damage disclosures specifically, see the hail damage and roof disclosure guide for Dallas sellers, which covers the CLUE report, TREC Form 55-0, and your options in detail.

If You're Buying a Dallas Home

The moment you go under contract, one of your first calls should be to an independent insurance agent — not at the end of the option period, at the beginning.

Here's what you need to find out quickly: can this property be insured at a standard rate, and if so, at what cost?

In parts of DFW — especially Collin County neighborhoods with older roofs — the answer may be that you can get coverage, but not from the carriers you're used to, and not at the price you assumed when you ran your budget. A difference of $2,000 to $3,500 per year in insurance premium is not a rounding error. On a 30-year loan, that's $60,000 to $100,000 in additional carrying costs.

If the property can't be insured at standard rates and you'd have to place it with the FAIR Plan, understand what that means:

• FAIR Plan premiums in DFW currently run $5,000 to $7,000 per year for properties that previously carried $3,500 to $4,500 policies.
• FAIR Plan coverage is stripped down — it covers the dwelling structure against catastrophic loss but typically excludes personal property, liability protection, and loss of use.
• Your lender will require you to supplement the FAIR Plan with a separate "difference in conditions" (DIC) policy to fill the coverage gaps. That adds cost.

If two or more carriers have declined to insure the property, you have the option to use your termination right during the option period. You'll get your earnest money back. That's a meaningful protection — but only if you discover the issue while you still have it.

One more thing: if you're assuming an FHA or VA loan on the property, or if your purchase involves FHA or VA financing, be aware that those programs have their own minimum property requirements. Some lenders may scrutinize coverage levels and premium costs as part of underwriting.

For context on what standard homeowners insurance shopping looks like in DFW — before the non-renewal question enters the picture — the homeowners insurance guide for Dallas buyers covers the six-step shopping process, deductible structure, and what to expect at closing.

Also worth reading: what changed in the Texas Seller's Disclosure Notice in 2026, which covers the full set of July 1 updates beyond just the insurance disclosure. And if you're still in the option period, the Texas option period guide explains exactly how your termination right works.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Texas FAIR Plan and when does it apply?

The Texas FAIR Plan Association is the state's insurer of last resort for homeowners who have been declined by at least two private market carriers. It provides basic dwelling coverage against fire, windstorm, and some other perils, but it does not include personal property, liability, or loss of use coverage. Premiums in DFW typically run $5,000 to $7,000 per year compared to $3,500 to $4,500 for a standard policy — and most lenders require a supplemental DIC policy on top of it.

Can a buyer cancel a Texas purchase contract if they can't get homeowners insurance?

Yes, during the option period a buyer can terminate for any reason and receive their earnest money back. This makes it critical to check insurability early in the option period — ideally within the first two or three days — rather than waiting until the final days before the period expires.

Does a seller in Texas have to disclose a homeowners insurance non-renewal?

Under the updated TREC Form 55-0 (effective July 1, 2026), sellers must disclose whether they have been unable to obtain homeowners insurance on the property. This is a required disclosure on the Seller's Disclosure Notice, and failing to answer it accurately can expose the seller to legal liability under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

How much notice must a Texas insurance carrier give before non-renewing a policy?

Under HB 2067, effective January 1, 2026, carriers must give at least 60 days' written notice before non-renewal for policies bought or renewed in 2024 or later. Older policies still carry the previous 30-day standard. The carrier is also now required to provide a written explanation for the non-renewal.

What DFW zip codes are most affected by the insurance carrier pullback?

Catastrophe models have specifically flagged the corridor running through Frisco, McKinney, Allen, and Plano as high-risk for carrier non-renewals due to hail density, high home values, and elevated rebuild costs. That said, homes throughout Collin County — and some Denton County and Rockwall County zip codes — have also been affected. The best way to know for sure is to call an independent insurance agent and ask them to shop the market for your specific address before you list or before you make an offer.

Insurance insurability is one of those issues that used to surface at the end of a transaction and derail it. In 2026, with new disclosure requirements and a market where coverage is genuinely harder to obtain in parts of DFW, it needs to be near the top of your checklist — whether you're selling or buying.

If you're selling and have any uncertainty about your current coverage status, let's talk through it before you list. If you're a buyer under contract and haven't checked insurability yet, that's the first call to make today. Reach out here or get your home's current value if you're thinking about selling.

About Paul Blair

Paul Blair is the founder and broker of Grey Square, a virtual real estate brokerage representing buyers and sellers across Dallas and Los Angeles. With 22 years in the business and more than $200 million in closed transactions, Paul works the full range of the market, from luxury homes in the Park Cities and Preston Hollow to estates in the Hollywood Hills and across the Westside. Connect with Paul and the Grey Square team at greysq.com. TX TREC #9011505 · CA DRE #01792671.