Policy terms
A percentage of the house, not a percentage of the damage
This is the most consequential sentence on a Texas homeowners policy that almost nobody reads, and it is not complicated. It is just counter-intuitive, and it is written on a page most people file unopened.
The arithmetic, in words
A flat deductible is a number. It is printed on the declarations page and it is the number subtracted from a covered loss.
A percentage deductible is not printed as a number at all. What is printed is a percentage, and the number is the product of that percentage and the dwelling coverage limit — the amount the structure of the house is insured for, which is also printed on the same page. To find your deductible you multiply the two. That is the whole calculation, and it is the calculation nobody does until there is a hole in the roof.
Two consequences follow immediately, and they are the reason this page exists.
- The deductible has nothing to do with the size of the damage. It is the same on a claim for one slope as on a claim for the whole roof, because the input is the value of the house rather than the extent of the loss. A small claim can be entirely swallowed by it.
- It is larger than a flat deductible, usually by a lot. A dwelling limit is a large number. A percentage of a large number is not a small number, even when the percentage is low. People who have carried a flat deductible elsewhere and then moved to Texas routinely misjudge this by a wide margin.
This site publishes no dollar figures anywhere, deliberately, so the illustration above is arithmetic rather than an example. Do the multiplication on your own declarations page. It takes thirty seconds and the result is usually surprising.
Why Texas policies are written this way
Wind and hail are frequent, geographically correlated perils here. A single hailstorm or a single landfalling system produces an enormous number of claims on the same day across the same region, which is a very different risk from the scattered, independent losses that most homeowners insurance is priced around. A percentage deductible scales a policyholder’s share of that risk with the value insured, and it reduces the number of small claims a carrier has to handle after a regional event.
Whether that is a fair trade is a reasonable argument to have with your agent. What is not reasonable is discovering the structure after a storm, which is the position most people are in.
The variants, and what the wording does
- Wind and hail deductible
- Applies to any wind or hail loss, whatever caused it: a thunderstorm gust in March, a squall line in May, or a tropical system in September. The broadest of the variants and the most common on a Texas policy.
- Windstorm or hurricane deductible
- Narrower wording that may attach only to certain kinds of wind event. Read it, because the difference decides which deductible applies to a given storm.
- Named storm deductible
- Triggered by a system that has been named. The trigger condition is worth reading closely — some forms turn on watches or warnings being issued for the area rather than on the damage itself.
- All other perils deductible
- The one that applies to fire, theft, a burst supply line and everything that is not wind or hail. Usually flat, usually smaller, and usually the one people remember having.
If your policy carries both a percentage wind and hail deductible and a flat all-other-perils deductible, the roof almost always gets the percentage one. Do not budget for a roof claim using the number you remember from your last plumbing loss.
The renewal drift
Many policies increase the dwelling coverage limit at renewal, automatically, to keep pace with construction costs. That is generally sensible — a house underinsured for rebuilding is a worse problem than a large deductible. But the percentage is applied to the new limit, so the deductible rises every year without any notice that mentions the deductible, because the deductible itself was never changed.
So redo the multiplication at every renewal rather than writing the answer down once. It is entirely possible to be certain about your deductible and several years out of date.
What it does to the decision to file
It changes it more than anything else on your policy. Three specific cases:
| Situation | With a flat deductible | With a percentage wind and hail deductible |
|---|---|---|
| A split pipe boot and a few lifted shingles on one rake | Possibly worth a claim | Almost certainly not. Repair it and keep the claim off your record |
| One slope damaged in a squall line | Usually worth a claim | Depends entirely on the product of the percentage and your dwelling limit. Get it scoped before you report it |
| Whole-roof wind damage after a landfalling system | Worth a claim | Worth a claim, and now the deductible is a large single payment you need to have available |
The last row is the one that catches people. A percentage deductible on a major claim is money you have to find, in one go, at a moment when a lot of other things in the house also need paying for. Knowing the figure in advance is the difference between a plan and a problem.
What to do about it
Do the multiplication now
Find the dwelling coverage limit and the wind and hail deductible percentage on your declarations page and multiply them. Write the result where you will find it, with the date.
Confirm which perils it attaches to
Wind and hail, windstorm, hurricane, or named storm. Ask your agent to confirm in writing which deductible applies to a roof damaged by a thunderstorm as against a tropical system.
Check whether wind and hail are even in this policy
On designated coastal territory they are frequently excluded from the homeowners policy and carried on a separate windstorm policy with its own deductible. See windstorm cover and TWIA.
Decide whether the trade is right for you
A lower premium in exchange for a much larger share of a wind or hail loss is a legitimate choice. Ask your agent what a lower percentage, or a flat wind and hail deductible, would do to the premium, and make it a decision.
Redo it every renewal
Because the dwelling limit moves and the deductible moves with it.
Verified as of September 24, 2026. We re-check these pages quarterly.
Want the damage scoped before you work out whether it clears your deductible?
Request a free inspectionIs a percentage deductible legal?
Yes, and it is common in Texas and in other catastrophe-exposed states. TDI’s consumer guidance on deductibles explicitly tells homeowners that a deductible may be a dollar amount or a percentage, and that if it is a percentage you should make sure you know what it works out to.
Is it a percentage of the claim or of the house?
Of the house — specifically of the dwelling coverage limit. This is the single most common misunderstanding about it, and it is the reason a percentage deductible can exceed the entire value of a modest claim.
Can I have a flat wind and hail deductible instead?
Sometimes, depending on the carrier, the location and the age and condition of the roof. It generally costs more in premium. Ask your agent for the comparison in writing so that you are choosing rather than inheriting.
Does the percentage deductible apply to the interior damage too?
If the interior damage is resulting damage from the same wind or hail loss, it is normally part of that claim and the same deductible applies once — not once per room and not once per policy section. Ask your adjuster to confirm how it has been applied on your claim.
What if I cannot pay it?
Talk to your contractor about a written payment plan, which Texas law explicitly contemplates and which counts as proof of payment for the purpose of releasing your depreciation. What you must not accept is an arrangement where the deductible quietly disappears. That is illegal for them and it puts your claim in jeopardy.
All work is performed by insured local roofing professionals. Texas does not license roofing contractors at state level, so insurance, references and a written scope are what there is to check.