A letter arrived saying your homeowners policy won't be renewed. Before anything else: you are not uninsured today. Your policy stays in force through its printed expiration date, and the single worst thing you could do right now is stop paying it.
What you have is a deadline, and enough time to work with if you start this week. I'm a Farmers agent in Richardson and I can also rate through additional markets, so this letter lands on my desk regularly — usually from people who are more alarmed than the situation warrants.
Here's what the letter means, what Texas law entitles you to, and the order I'd work the problem in.
What does non-renewal actually mean?
The short answer: Your policy runs its full term and the company chooses not to offer another one. Different from cancellation, and far less urgent — but still on a clock.
TDI draws the line clearly. Non-renewal means the company is not continuing your policy after its end date — you'll find that date on the renewal notice or by asking the company. Cancellation means the company stops the policy before its end date, and requires 10 days' notice.
The distinction matters for how you should feel about it. A cancellation mid-term is a serious, narrow event. Texas restricts it heavily: once a homeowners policy has been in force 60 days or more, a carrier generally can only cancel for non-payment, fraud, an increase in hazard within your control that raises your rate, or a determination by TDI that continuing would violate insurance law.
| Non-renewal | Cancellation | |
|---|---|---|
| When it takes effect | At your policy's end date | Mid-term, before the end date |
| Notice required | 60 days (2024+ policies) · 30 days (2023 or earlier) | 10 days |
| Permitted reasons | Business decision, subject to limits on claims history | After 60 days in force: non-payment, fraud, increase in hazard, or TDI determination |
| Are you covered right now? | Yes, until the end date | Only until the cancellation date |
| Written reason required | Yes — for decisions made on or after Jan 1, 2026, without you asking | |
A non-renewal is a business decision about the future. It often has little to do with you personally — carriers have been reducing exposure across North Texas, and roof age and ZIP-level hail losses drive a great deal of it.
How much notice does the company have to give?
The short answer: 60 days if you bought or renewed the policy in 2024 or later; 30 days if it was 2023 or earlier.
TDI states it plainly: your company must give you 60 days' notice of a non-renewal if you bought or renewed your policy in 2024, and 30 days' notice if you bought or renewed in 2023 or earlier.
TDI's own framing of why that window exists is worth repeating — it leaves time for you to shop for a policy meeting your needs and budget, and to have a new policy in place before the current one expires. That's the job. Not to panic, and not to wait.
If the notice you received gave you less time than the law requires, that's worth raising. You can file a complaint with TDI. Understand what that does and doesn't achieve: TDI can investigate procedural violations, but it generally can't force a carrier to keep writing you.
Can you make them tell you why?
The short answer: They have to tell you — in writing, and as of 2026 you no longer have to ask for it.
This is the part most articles on this topic currently get wrong, so it's worth being precise.
House Bill 2067, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, requires insurers to provide policyholders and applicants with a written statement explaining the reason for a declination, cancellation, or non-renewal. TDI summarised it in Commissioner's Bulletin B-0012-25.
The important change is what the bill removed. Under the previous law, insurers had to give you the reason on request. HB 2067 deleted that language — the bill analysis states it "deletes existing text requiring an insurer, at the request of an applicant for insurance or an insured, provide a written statement of the reason." The disclosure is now the insurer's obligation, not something you have to chase. It applies to company decisions made on or after January 1, 2026.
You'll still see plenty of pages — including from agencies in this market — telling you that "now, if you ask, they must tell you." That's the old rule. The change was precisely that you shouldn't have to ask.
HB 2067 also requires carriers to report their reasons to TDI at least quarterly, summarised and categorised by ZIP code, which TDI intends to compile and publish. That's the state building a picture of where carriers are quietly withdrawing.
What can't a Texas insurer use against you?
The short answer: Weather claims and claims that were filed but never paid. TDI's Consumer Bill of Rights limits both.
TDI's Consumer Bill of Rights sets limits on using claims history for non-renewal. Your insurance company cannot refuse to renew your policy based on claims for damage from natural causes, including weather-related damage, or on claims that are filed but not paid or payable under the policy.
Both halves matter in North Texas. Hail is a natural cause. And people file claims that end up below the deductible and pay nothing — those inquiries shouldn't be counted against renewal either.
That said, be realistic about what this protection does. It restricts using those specific claims as the reason. It does not stop a carrier from tightening its appetite for older roofs, or from pulling back from a whole area. Carriers can and do consider roof condition and overall risk profile.
So if your letter cites weather claims as the reason for non-renewal, that's worth questioning — with the carrier, and with TDI if you're not satisfied. If it cites roof age or a market decision, the protection above doesn't apply and shopping is the answer.
What should you do in the first week?
The short answer: Confirm your expiration date, get the written reason, pull your declarations page, and start shopping immediately — in that order.
Find your expiration date
It's on the notice or the renewal paperwork. Everything else works backwards from it. Put it in your calendar with a reminder two weeks before.
Keep paying the premium
You're covered until that date and you want to stay covered. Cancelling early to save a month creates a gap that costs far more than the month.
Get the written reason
As of 2026 the carrier owes it to you without being asked. It determines whether this is a fixable problem, a disputable one, or simply a market decision.
Pull your declarations page
Coverage A, deductibles including wind and hail, roof settlement terms. You need these to shop honestly — a cheaper quote at thinner coverage isn't a win.
Start shopping in parallel
Don't wait to resolve a dispute before shopping. Do both at once. If the dispute succeeds you'll have options anyway.
Tell your mortgage servicer nothing yet
Sort the replacement policy first, then send them proof. Getting ahead of it with a half-finished story invites force-placed coverage you don't need.
The reason I emphasise speed isn't drama — it's that the good outcomes here all depend on having a new policy bound before the old one expires. Everything gets harder after a gap opens.
Where should you look for a new policy?
The short answer: The standard market first, and it's bigger than most people assume. TDI counts roughly 160 companies writing home coverage in Texas.
The instinct after a non-renewal is to assume you're now a hard case. Usually you're not. Carrier appetites differ enormously — the roof age or claim pattern that one company declined is routine business for another, and appetites shift year to year as carriers rebalance.
TDI's own shopping advice is sound: get sample rates on HelpInsure.com and then follow up with companies directly, work with an agent who can compare policies from different companies, and ask people you know who they use.
What I'd add from doing this work: shop at matched coverage. A replacement policy with a lower dwelling limit, a bigger wind and hail deductible, or an actual cash value roof is not a cheaper version of what you had. It's less insurance, and in a hail market those three lines are where the money actually is. Compare the same policy or you're not comparing. If you want a sense of what matched coverage should price at before you start calling, published Texas home insurance averages and what moves them are worth ten minutes.
If the stated reason was roof age and your roof is genuinely near the end of its life, that changes the conversation. Replacing it can reopen carriers that won't look at you today, and may qualify for the impact-resistant credit Texas requires carriers to offer. That's worth pricing alongside the insurance.
What happens if you don't replace it in time?
The short answer: If you have a mortgage, your lender buys coverage for you — expensive, and it protects them rather than you.
Mortgage agreements require you to keep the property insured. If your coverage lapses, the lender typically puts a policy in place to protect its asset, at your expense. That's force-placed or lender-placed coverage.
Two things about it that people find out too late. It generally costs considerably more than a policy you'd arrange yourself. And it protects the lender's interest in the structure — your belongings aren't covered, and neither is your liability. If something happened while force-placed coverage was in effect, you'd be looking at a very different outcome than under a real homeowners policy.
Your servicer force-places coverage. Say your own policy had been $2,900 a year and the force-placed one runs $6,400 — a figure chosen here only to show the shape, since these vary widely. That difference is added to your escrow.
Then in month two a pipe bursts and ruins flooring and furniture. The force-placed policy responds to the lender's interest in the structure. Your belongings aren't covered, and neither is your liability. The furniture is yours to replace.
Nothing here required bad luck beyond ordinary timing. Two weeks of earlier action removes the entire scenario. Figures are illustrative; actual force-placed costs and terms vary by servicer and policy.
It's also not permanent. Once you have your own policy, you send proof to the servicer and they remove it — though refunds and timing can be slow and irritating. All of which is avoidable by having the new policy in place before the old one ends.
The bottom line
The short answer: You have time, you have a right to the reason in writing, and you have roughly 160 companies to choose from. Use the window rather than waiting it out.
A non-renewal letter feels like a verdict and is closer to a scheduling problem. The policy is live until the date on the notice. You're owed 60 days if the policy was bought or renewed in 2024 or later, and — as of decisions made from January 2026 — a written explanation you don't have to request.
What actually determines how this ends is whether you start now or in three weeks. Get the reason, pull the declarations page, and shop at matched coverage while the current policy is still in force.
If you'd rather hand it to someone, send me the notice and your declarations page and I'll work it against your expiration date and tell you honestly where you stand. I'm in Richardson, I do this in English and Spanish, and there's a $10 e-gift card just for letting me prepare the quote.
Last reviewed by Jaime Mendez on September 9, 2026. This guide is educational and is not legal advice or personalized insurance advice. Notice periods, permissible reasons, and your rights depend on your policy and its issue date — confirm your own situation with your carrier or the Texas Department of Insurance. This guide is refreshed quarterly.
