A San Antonio complex is a hail risk first and a water risk second, and neither one has a state-run fallback: the Texas FAIR Plan does not write apartment buildings and the windstorm association covers only the coast. What moves the terms is paper: roof ages by building, proof that past hail claims were repaired, a freeze plan, the flood map and a clean code record. Send me those and I can show you what the market will offer.
What underwriters ask about a San Antonio apartment building
- HailOn April 12, 2016 the strongest storm of the evening laid a swath of very large hail just north of downtown, with many reports of two to three inch stones and a largest stone of 4.5 inches. A second hailstorm hit the city on April 25.
- RoofsAge, covering and last replacement for every building, and whether a past hail payment was actually spent on the roof.
- Flash floodThe National Weather Service says South Central Texas is commonly called Flash Flood Alley, and that flash flooding is the leading cause of weather deaths in the region.
- FreezeThe Texas Department of Insurance counted 44,285 claims in Bexar County from the February 2021 winter storm, the third most of any county.
- Code recordSince April 2023 the city has kept a registry of apartment complexes with repeated citations, with monthly inspections for those on it.
The policy itself is built the way it is anywhere (how apartment programs are put together). The local part is which of those five answers you can document.
Hail, the roof and the percentage deductible
The Weather Service’s summary of April 12, 2016 describes thunderstorms that formed along the Rio Grande, turned severe and reached San Antonio late in the evening. The largest stone it documented, 4.5 inches across, fell about three miles southeast of Helotes. For an owner with a dozen low-rise buildings under composition shingles, a storm like that is a claim on every roof at once, and insurers have rewritten their terms around it:
- A percentage wind/hail deductible. The Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel points out that a percentage deductible is calculated on the amount of insurance, not on the size of the claim. Ask whether yours applies per building, per location or across the whole schedule. How wind and hail deductibles work.
- Actual cash value on roofs. The Texas Department of Insurance’s filing checklist for commercial property says actual cash value for roofs has been allowed where the cause of loss is limited to wind and hail. On an older roof that means depreciation is taken out of a hail claim even if the rest of the building is insured for replacement cost.
- Cosmetic damage wording. Dents in metal roofing, gutters and siding that do not let water in may be excluded by endorsement.
- Roof age cut-offs. Some insurers will not offer replacement cost, or wind and hail at all, past a certain roof age.
Texas Property Code section 92.054 lists hail as an example of an insured casualty and says the landlord’s period to repair does not begin until the insurance proceeds are received. That helps with timing. It does nothing for the difference between a depreciated roof payment and the roofer’s bill. Hail deductibles and roof depreciation in Texas.
Flash flood is a separate policy
Bexar County’s own description of the problem, in an August 2025 Commissioners Court briefing, is that the risk of flash flooding is prevalent because the county sits on the Balcones Escarpment, where intense and unpredictable weather meets a change in elevation, impervious limestone, erosive soils and steep slopes. The county began a ten-year flood control program in 2007 and has paid for roughly 80 high-water warning systems that detect rising water on roadways.
The night of June 11 to 12, 2025 showed what that means in practice. The Weather Service recorded San Antonio’s highest hourly rainfall rate on record, thirteen people died in the flooding, twelve of them in the Beitel Creek basin and one along Leon Creek, and all of it happened during an extreme to exceptional drought. Complexes near creeks, drainage channels and low-water crossings carry the exposure whether or not the last few years were dry.
- Flood is not in the property policy. The Texas Department of Insurance’s guide to commercial property says most policies do not cover flooding and that a separate flood policy is needed, with a 30-day wait before it takes effect.
- The federal limit is small for a complex. Under the National Flood Insurance Program an “other residential” building can carry at most five hundred thousand dollars on the building and one hundred thousand dollars on contents, so larger properties add private or excess flood. NFIP and private flood compared.
- Tenants must be told. Property Code 92.0135 requires a written 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.
Freeze: what February 2021 changed
The Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office called February 10 to 18, 2021 an unprecedented eight-day period of winter weather, with failed power grids and burst water pipes. San Antonio International Airport stayed below freezing for four days and twelve hours, one hour short of the record set in 1951. In the state’s final data call, as of June 30, 2022, commercial property made up about 10 percent of the claims statewide and 46 percent of the paid losses.
The apartment version of that loss is a sprinkler main or supply line in an attic, breezeway or vacant unit that freezes during an outage and opens when it thaws. Underwriters now ask where the piping runs, whether vacant units are kept heated, who on site can shut off the water and what was changed afterward. Many policies make freeze coverage depend on maintaining heat or draining the lines, so read that condition before winter, not after.
The city’s apartment inspection registry and liability
San Antonio’s Proactive Apartment Inspections Program, approved by City Council and in force since April 2, 2023, works on points. According to the city’s fact sheet:
- Who it reachesAny apartment complex with five or more units inside city limits.
- How a property gets listedThree designated citations within a rolling six-month period, or an order of the Building Standards Board. A violation left uncorrected after notice, normally ten calendar days, counts as a point.
- What listing meansMonthly inspections of up to 5 percent of units, a per-unit annual fee and at least six months on the registry.
- Getting offAll violations corrected and fewer than two citations in six consecutive months, followed by four years of probation. A property that falls back in stays a full year.
The violations that count read like a liability underwriter’s inspection form: stairways, decks, porches and balconies, handrails and guards, roofs and drainage, electrical and plumbing hazards, heat supply, smoke alarms and emergency escape openings. A registry listing is public evidence that the owner knew about a condition, which matters in an injury suit. State law sets its own floor. Property Code 92.052 requires a diligent effort to repair conditions that materially affect an ordinary tenant’s health or safety, and 92.153 requires window latches, door locks, keyless bolting devices and door viewers without a request. A commercial umbrella over the primary liability limit is standard for a complex of any size.
Loss of rents, and no state fallback
Loss of rents coverage replaces the income from units that are out of service after a covered loss. In Texas the lease side is set by Property Code 92.054: if a casualty leaves a unit totally unusable, either the landlord or the tenant may end the lease and the tenant is owed a pro rata refund. After a hailstorm or a freeze that hits the whole city, repair times stretch, so size the limit to the rent roll and a realistic rebuild period. How income coverage works.
If the standard market declines, there is no state program behind it for this kind of property. The Texas Department of Insurance’s overview of the Texas FAIR Plan lists one and two family dwellings, townhouse and condominium units and one and two family rentals, not apartment buildings. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association covers wind and hail only, and only in the fourteen coastal counties and part of Harris County; Bexar County is not among them. A hard-to-place San Antonio building goes to the surplus lines market, which is why the roof and loss paperwork matters so much.
What to send me
- Address, 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 since 2016.
- Current declarations pages for property, liability, umbrella and flood, including the wind/hail deductible wording.
- Five years of loss runs, with what was repaired after each claim.
- Freeze protection: where sprinkler and supply lines run, what was changed after February 2021, and the winter plan for vacant units.
- Flood information: the flood zone for each building, any elevation certificate, and distance to the nearest creek or drainage channel.
- City record: any code citations in the last two years, registry notices, and proof of correction.
- The rent roll and current occupancy.
Common questions
Who insures apartment buildings in San Antonio?
Standard commercial insurers write newer complexes with newer roofs; older roofs, prior hail claims or a poor code record usually move a property to the surplus lines market. I shop both and lay out the wind and hail terms side by side.
Why did my San Antonio apartment insurance go up after a hailstorm?
Hail losses such as the April 2016 storm led insurers to raise rates, move to percentage wind/hail deductibles and settle older roofs at actual cash value. Documented roof replacement is what changes the offer.
Does apartment building insurance in San Antonio cover flash flooding?
No. Most commercial property policies exclude flood, so it is bought separately through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer, and the federal limit for an apartment building is low enough that larger complexes need excess flood.
Can a San Antonio apartment building get coverage from the Texas FAIR Plan or TWIA?
No. The FAIR Plan’s residential coverage does not extend to apartment buildings, and the windstorm association writes wind and hail only in the designated coastal area, which does not include Bexar County.
Are frozen pipe losses covered on a Texas apartment building?
A sudden pipe burst is generally covered, but many policies require that heat be maintained or lines drained in vacant units. After February 2021, underwriters ask about freeze protection directly.
Does San Antonio inspect apartment complexes?
Yes. Under the Proactive Apartment Inspections Program, a complex of five or more units with three designated citations in a rolling six months can be placed on a city registry and inspected monthly.
General information about insuring apartment buildings in San Antonio and Bexar County as of November 2026, not legal advice. The city’s inspection program, National Flood Insurance Program limits and the Texas Property Code change; confirm your property’s status with the Development Services Department and your duties as a landlord with your attorney. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.