Commercial property insurance for Texas businesses
Buildings, equipment, and inventory in a state that hails on them, quoted across the carriers we represent.
What it covers
- Buildings you own, including permanently attached equipment and fixtures
- Tenant improvements you've made to a leased space
- Machinery, equipment, furniture, and computers
- Inventory and stock, including goods in transit on some policies
- Lost income and continuing expenses while you rebuild (business income, if added)
- Outdoor signs and fences (often a small sublimit unless scheduled) and property of others in your care, if a limit is selected
- Wind and hail damage, subject to the deductible (often excluded in coastal counties, where TWIA fills the gap)
How it works in Texas
Commercial property insurance covers the physical stuff your business depends on: the building if you own it, the improvements if you lease, and everything inside. It’s the stand-alone version of the property half of a business owner policy, used when your business is too large, too specialized, or too spread out for a BOP.
In Texas, the conversation starts with wind and hail. Carriers commonly apply a separate deductible to those perils, often a percentage of the building or contents value. Roof age and condition affect pricing and whether a carrier will write the building at all. A metal or recently replaced roof helps. A flat roof from the 1990s gets questions.
Valuation matters more than people expect. Most policies include a coinsurance clause, usually requiring you to insure to at least 80% of replacement cost. Construction costs have risen, and a building that was properly valued five years ago may be underinsured today. We’ll work through the replacement cost with you so a claim is less likely to be reduced.
Flood is excluded on standard policies and needs its own policy. Coastal counties may need wind coverage from TWIA, which is only sold through agents and stops taking new applications and increases once a storm is designated a hurricane and enters the Gulf. And business income coverage, which replaces lost revenue while you rebuild, should be sized for how long Texas repairs actually take after a widespread storm.
What changes your price
- Construction type, age, and roof condition
- Location, especially hail history and coastal exposure
- The replacement cost of the building and contents
- Deductibles, including the wind/hail deductible
- Fire protection: sprinklers, alarms, and distance to a hydrant
- What the building is used for and who your tenants are, if any
- Claims history
What we’ll ask you
- The property address, square footage, year built, and roof age
- Whether you own or lease, and what the lease makes you responsible for
- A rough value for equipment, inventory, and improvements
- Any recent updates to the roof, electrical, plumbing, or HVAC
- Prior claims and your current policy’s declarations page
If you have several locations, send us the list and we’ll quote them together.
Why go through an independent agent
Commercial property carriers in Texas are selective about roofs, locations, and building types, and their appetites shift every year. A carrier that wrote your building last year might not renew a 20-year-old roof this year. We track which carriers are open to what, so when a renewal turns difficult, there are options to quote rather than a scramble.
We also read the policy for the parts that bite at claim time: the wind/hail deductible, the coinsurance clause, the valuation basis, the business income period. Those aren’t obvious on a quote comparison. They’re the reason two policies with the same premium can pay very differently after the same storm.
Common questions
What's the wind/hail deductible on Texas commercial property?
It's often separate from your regular deductible and may be a percentage of the insured value rather than a flat amount. On a $1 million building, a 2% wind/hail deductible means the first $20,000 of a hail claim is yours. It's one of the most important numbers to know before a storm, so check it on the quote before you buy.
What does coinsurance mean on a commercial property policy?
Most policies require you to insure the property to at least a set percentage of its value, commonly 80%. If you're insured for less than that and have a claim, the carrier reduces the payout in proportion. Undervaluing a building to save premium can cost you at claim time. We'll help you get to a defensible replacement cost.
Is flood covered?
Almost never. Standard commercial property policies exclude flood. It needs a separate policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private carrier, and NFIP policies usually have a 30-day waiting period. Texas businesses do flood outside mapped flood zones, so it's worth pricing even when the lender doesn't require it.
I'm on the coast. Can I get wind coverage on my building?
Usually, though it may come from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association rather than your main carrier. TWIA writes commercial as well as residential property in the coastal counties, sells only through agents, and stops taking new applications and coverage increases once a storm has been designated a hurricane and enters the Gulf of Mexico. Coastal businesses should start early and keep the policy continuous.
Does it cover equipment breakdown?
Not by default. Standard property coverage pays for damage from outside causes like fire, wind, or theft. If your HVAC, refrigeration, or production equipment fails from an internal electrical or mechanical problem, that's an equipment breakdown claim, which is an add-on. Restaurants and manufacturers usually want it.
This page is general information about commercial property insurance in Texas, not a description of any specific policy. What a policy covers, excludes, and pays is set by the policy documents the carrier issues, which control if anything here differs. Coverage availability and terms vary by carrier and by risk, and can change after this page was written. How we write and check these pages.
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