The National Weather Service says large hail, damaging winds, flooding and tornadoes occur nearly every year somewhere in the Metroplex. For a multi-building complex that means the wind and hail terms matter more than the base rate: the deductible, what it is a percentage of, and how the roofs are valued. Send me roof ages by building and five years of losses and I can tell you what the market will offer.
What underwriters ask about a Dallas–Fort Worth apartment building
- HailThe April 11, 2016 storm that crossed Wylie produced a 5.25-inch stone, the largest on record in the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth forecast area.
- TornadoAn EF-3 tornado tracked almost 16 miles across northern Dallas County on October 20, 2019, damaging at least one multi-story apartment complex.
- RoofsAge, covering and last replacement, building by building. Many insurers will not write replacement cost on older roofs.
- FreezeDFW Airport fell to minus 2 degrees on February 16, 2021 and stayed at or below freezing for 139 consecutive hours.
- City inspectionsDallas registers multi-tenant properties every year and scores them in a graded inspection.
The policy structure is the same as anywhere (how apartment programs are put together). What differs here is how much of the negotiation is about the roof.
Hail, wind and the roof
Hail in North Texas is a scheduled expense, not a surprise. The Weather Service’s review of the April 2016 storm notes that 80 percent of the homes in Wylie were affected, and its climate summary for Dallas–Fort Worth lists large hail among the hazards that turn up nearly every year. A garden-style complex with twenty roofs is twenty chances to be under the core of a storm.
Underwriters respond in three ways, and each one shows up in the wording of the quote:
- A percentage wind/hail deductible. The Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel reminds buyers that a percentage deductible is figured on the amount of insurance, not the claim. Ask whether it applies per building, per location or to the total insured value. How wind and hail deductibles work.
- Actual cash value on roofs. The department’s review checklist for commercial property forms says actual cash value for roofs has been allowed where the cause of loss is limited to wind and hail. That means depreciation comes out of a hail claim on an older roof even when the building is otherwise insured at replacement cost.
- Cosmetic damage exclusions. Dents in metal roofing, gutters or siding that do not let water in may be excluded, usually by endorsement.
- Roof age limits. Some insurers set a maximum roof age for replacement cost, or for writing wind and hail at all.
The Texas Property Code names hail as an example of an insured casualty loss, and under section 92.054 the landlord’s period to repair does not begin until the insurance proceeds arrive. That protects you on timing, but not on the gap between a depreciated roof payment and the roofer’s invoice. How hail roof claims are adjusted.
Tornado: the October 2019 lesson
On the evening of October 20, 2019, ten tornadoes were confirmed across North Texas. The strongest, rated EF-3 with estimated peak winds of 140 miles an hour, started near Irving and ended in Richardson: a path of 15.76 miles, up to 1,300 yards wide, through northwest Dallas, along Walnut Hill Lane and across Preston Hollow. The Weather Service survey describes significant roof and exterior wall damage to commercial buildings, churches and at least one multi-story apartment complex. No one was killed.
Tornado is covered as wind under a commercial property policy, subject to the wind/hail deductible. The lesson for owners was about limits and time: whether the building limit matched the real cost to rebuild, whether ordinance or law coverage was there for an older building brought up to current code, and whether the loss of rents period ran long enough when every contractor in the county was booked.
Freeze: February 2021
The Weather Service’s Fort Worth office recorded minus 2 degrees at DFW Airport on February 16, 2021 and 139 consecutive hours at or below freezing from February 13 to 19. The Texas Department of Insurance’s final count for that storm, as of June 30, 2022, shows 48,479 reported claims in Dallas County, 36,405 in Tarrant, 21,723 in Collin and 16,188 in Denton. Statewide, commercial property was about 10 percent of the claims and 46 percent of the paid losses, and 13.4 percent of commercial property claims were still open sixteen months later.
The usual apartment loss is a fire sprinkler or supply line in an unheated attic, breezeway or vacant unit that freezes during an outage and lets go when it thaws. Expect questions about where the piping runs, whether vacant units are kept heated, who can shut off the water, and what was changed afterward. Some policies condition freeze coverage on maintaining heat or draining lines, so read that clause before the next cold snap.
Dallas Chapter 27: registration, graded inspections and liability
Inside the City of Dallas, Chapter 27 of the City Code governs minimum property standards for rentals. Anyone who owns, operates or controls a multi-tenant property must register it each year, and the city says those properties must be inspected at least once every three years. The inspection is graded: the property is given a score based on the number of code violations found, and the city publishes multi-tenant inspection scores by year. Since December 2021, high-scoring properties can be invited into a self-certification program.
- ExteriorUnsound stairs, rails or balconies, trip hazards, potholes in the parking lot, inadequate security lighting, required fencing and pool safety.
- InteriorSmoke alarms, exposed wiring, water leaks, peepholes and keyless deadbolts, and inoperable heating or air conditioning.
- Crime prevention addendumChapter 27 requires a crime prevention addendum to residential leases at rental properties.
Every item on that list is also a liability claim: a fall on a stair, a drowning, an assault in an unlit lot. A poor score or an open notice is something a liability underwriter can find, and so can a plaintiff’s lawyer. State law adds its own duties; Property Code 92.153 requires window latches, door locks, keyless bolting devices and door viewers without the tenant having to ask. Fort Worth and the suburbs run their own rental programs, so tell me which city the property is in. A commercial umbrella over the primary liability limit is standard for any complex of size.
Flood along the Trinity and its creeks
Dallas is drained by the Trinity River and its tributaries, the larger ones being White Rock Creek and Fivemile Creek. The most recent widespread flooding listed in the city’s flood hazard brochure was mainly in the interior drainage areas behind the levees, not along the river itself. Flood is excluded from commercial property policies and bought separately. Under the National Flood Insurance Program, “other residential” buildings, the class apartment buildings fall in, can carry at most five hundred thousand dollars on the building and one hundred thousand dollars on contents, so larger complexes add private or excess flood. How flood insurance works.
Texas also puts a disclosure duty on landlords. Property Code 92.0135 requires a signed notice, in or with the lease, saying whether the landlord is aware the dwelling is in a 100-year floodplain and whether it has flooded in the last five years. If the notice is skipped and a tenant suffers a substantial flood loss to belongings, the tenant may terminate the lease.
What to send me
- Address, city, year built, stories, unit count and construction type for each building, with a statement of values.
- Roofs by building: age, covering, last replacement, and invoices or permits for any hail repair.
- Hail and wind claims: what was paid and proof the work was done.
- Freeze protection: where sprinkler and supply lines run, what was changed after February 2021, and your winter plan.
- Current declarations pages for property, liability, umbrella and flood, including the wind/hail deductible wording.
- Five years of loss runs, the rent roll and current occupancy.
- City paperwork: the multi-tenant registration, the latest graded inspection score and any open notices.
Common questions
Who insures apartment buildings in Dallas–Fort Worth?
Standard commercial insurers write newer complexes with newer roofs; older roofs, prior hail claims or a large schedule often move the property to the surplus lines market. I shop both and show you the wind and hail terms side by side.
Why did my Dallas apartment insurance go up after a hailstorm?
Hail is a recurring loss in North Texas, and insurers have responded with higher rates, percentage wind/hail deductibles and depreciated settlement on older roofs. A documented roof replacement is the single thing that changes the conversation.
What is a typical wind and hail deductible on a DFW apartment complex?
It is usually a percentage rather than a flat amount, and it is figured on the amount of insurance, not the claim. The key question is whether it applies per building, per location or to the whole schedule.
Will insurance pay to replace a hail-damaged apartment roof in Texas?
It depends on the roof valuation. With replacement cost you are paid the cost of a new roof less the deductible; with actual cash value on the roof, depreciation comes out first, and cosmetic damage may be excluded.
Does apartment building insurance cover tornado damage in Dallas?
Yes. Tornado is wind under a commercial property policy, subject to the wind/hail deductible. Check that the building limit, ordinance or law coverage and loss of rents period would carry a full rebuild.
Are frozen pipe losses covered on a Dallas apartment building?
Sudden pipe bursts are generally covered, but many policies carry conditions about maintaining heat or shutting off and draining lines in vacant units. After February 2021, underwriters ask about freeze protection directly.
Does Dallas inspect apartment buildings?
Yes. Multi-tenant properties must register with the city each year and be inspected at least once every three years under Chapter 27, with a graded score.
General information about insuring apartment buildings in Dallas and the Dallas–Fort Worth area as of November 2026, not legal advice. City registration and inspection rules, National Flood Insurance Program limits and the Texas Property Code change, and each city in the Metroplex has its own rental program; confirm your property’s status with the city’s code compliance office and your attorney. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.