Renewal shock: what to check when your home premium jumps

The renewal notice arrives and the number is a few hundred dollars higher than last year, or a few thousand. Nothing about your house has changed. You haven’t filed a claim. So what happened?

Usually one of a handful of things, and each one has a different fix. The worst response is to pay it without looking, and the second-worst is to switch carriers without knowing what you’re switching away from. Here’s what to check first.

Start with what the whole state is doing

Texas home rates had two rough years and then settled. TDI’s average statewide homeowners rate changes were +21.1% in 2023, +18.7% in 2024, and +4.3% in 2025 (TDI, 2026). The Dallas Fed notes the pace of growth slowed substantially, from 18.7% in 2024 to 4.3% in 2025 (Dallas Fed, 2026).

That gives you a benchmark. If your renewal is up 5% or so, that’s roughly in line with the average rate change TDI reported, before any change to your dwelling limit. If it’s up 25%, something specific to your policy or your carrier is going on, and it’s worth finding out what.

Six things to compare, line by line

Put last year’s declarations page next to this year’s. You’re looking for anything that moved.

1. Dwelling limit (Coverage A). Many policies apply an inflation adjustment to the dwelling limit at renewal. Construction wages rose more in Texas than nationally after the pandemic, and materials costs have run slightly above the national trend since 2023 (Dallas Fed, 2026), so these adjustments have been meaningful. If Coverage A went from $380,000 to $420,000, your premium rose because you’re insuring more house. That may be correct. But if a current rebuild estimate comes in lower, ask your agent whether the limit can be adjusted. Carriers set their own minimums, so it isn’t always possible.

2. Wind and hail deductible. It’s usually a percentage of Coverage A, so it grows when the dwelling limit grows. A 2% deductible on $380,000 was $7,600. On $420,000 it’s $8,400. This doesn’t raise your premium, but it’s part of what you’re getting for the money, and it’s easy to miss.

3. Roof coverage. Look at the endorsements list for anything mentioning actual cash value, ACV, or a roof schedule. TDI notes that as roofs age, some companies switch roof coverage to actual cash value, and the company should tell you when it changes your coverage (TDI, 2026). If yours changed, the premium might look flat while the coverage got thinner.

4. Discounts. Compare the discount lines. Common ones that fall off: claims-free, multi-policy (if you moved your auto elsewhere), paid-in-full, alarm or monitoring, and new-roof credits that expire after a set number of years. A dropped bundle discount alone can be a noticeable chunk of the increase, since multi-policy discounts are often one of the larger ones.

5. Your rating factors. Insurers re-check things at renewal. Credit-based insurance scores, claims in the past few years (including ones where a claim was opened but you never collected; a general coverage question that didn’t turn into a claim can’t be held against you under Texas Insurance Code Sec. 551.113), and the age of the roof on file can all shift your price. If the roof age on file is wrong, correct it.

6. The carrier’s own rate filing. Your insurer may have filed a rate increase for your territory. TDI has a searchable rate filings tool where you can check whether your home insurer has filed a change (TDI, 2026). If the carrier took a 20% increase in your area, adjusting your own policy won’t offset most of it, and it’s time to compare.

A worked example

This one is hypothetical, with rounded numbers to keep the math simple. Say last year’s premium was $2,400 and this year’s is $3,100, a 29% jump. Breaking it down:

Change	Effect on premium
Carrier rate increase in your territory, 8%	+$192
Dwelling limit inflation adjustment, $380,000 to $420,000	+$180
Multi-policy discount dropped after auto moved	+$260
Roof credit expired (roof turned 10)	+$68
Total	+$700

Real carriers apply these changes on top of each other rather than adding them, so treat the split as a rough guide, not a formula.

Each row needs a different response. The rate increase is the carrier’s decision. The dwelling adjustment is worth verifying against a rebuild estimate. The lost bundle discount is fixable by moving the auto back or moving both policies elsewhere. The roof credit is probably gone with this carrier, but another carrier may treat a 10-year-old roof differently.

When to stay and when to shop

Stay, or at least ask for a re-rate, if the increase tracks the market, your coverage is intact, and you’d lose a claims-free history or a bundle by leaving. Ask your agent whether a higher wind and hail deductible or a re-quote with corrected details would bring the number down.

Shop if the carrier filed a large increase in your territory, if your roof got moved to ACV, or if the coverage you’d get elsewhere is the same or better for less. Carriers price Texas risk differently, and the gap between the top and bottom quote for the same house can be large.

Either way, do it before the renewal date. Once the policy renews, you can still cancel and switch. As of September 1, 2026, Texas requires a pro rata refund of unearned premium on home and auto policies, so short-rate penalties are gone, though a carrier can keep a small minimum retained premium if it’s in its filing (28 TAC 5.7015). You do lose the clean handoff.

What to do next

1. Get last year’s and this year’s declarations pages side by side and note every line that changed.
2. Check TDI’s rate filings tool to see whether your carrier filed an increase in your area.
3. Call your agent with the list and ask what can be corrected, adjusted, or re-rated before renewal.
4. If the answer isn’t enough, have an independent agent quote the same coverage with several other carriers at least a few weeks before the renewal date.