Hail, tornadoes and one long freeze drive commercial property terms in Dallas–Fort Worth. Expect a wind and hail deductible written as a percentage, a close look at roof age and roof settlement, and questions about heat and sprinklers. There is no state plan of last resort for an inland commercial building, and flood is a separate policy. Send me the roof and building facts and I can describe the property the way an underwriter wants to read it.
What an underwriter asks about a DFW commercial building
- The roofAge, material, square footage and the date and scope of the last replacement, for every building on the schedule. A hail-rated covering or a recent re-roof changes who will quote.
- Hail and wind historyFive years of losses, and whether past hail claims were repaired or the money was kept. An unrepaired roof is usually excluded or settled at a depreciated value.
- The deductibleWind and hail is commonly carried as a percentage of the insured value, separate from the deductible for fire or theft.
- OccupancyOffice, retail, industrial or mixed. What the tenants do inside decides the fire rating and how much stock is under the roof.
- Sprinklers and heatWet or dry systems, who monitors them, and what keeps pipes warm when power is out.
- Who insures whatOn a triple net lease the tenant may carry the building or only its own contents. The lease decides, and I read it first.
The coverage parts themselves are the same as anywhere (how commercial property coverage is built). What changes in North Texas is the order of the questions.
Hail: the list the Fort Worth weather office keeps
The National Weather Service office in Fort Worth publishes a ranking of the costliest hail storms in Texas, with figures credited to the Insurance Council of Texas. Every one of the six storms on it crossed North Texas: the Mayfest storm of May 5, 1995 at the top, then April 28, 1992 (Fort Worth and Waco), April 5, 2003, June 13, 2012, April 28, 1995 at DFW Airport and May 8, 1981 from Palo Pinto County to Dallas. On the 2012 storm the office recorded hail from baseball to softball size across parts of Dallas, Collin and Fannin counties.
The record came later. On April 11, 2016 a supercell dropped a 5.25-inch stone, the largest on record in the Fort Worth forecast area, and the office wrote that 80 percent of the homes in Wylie were affected. Its climate summary for the Metroplex says large hail, damaging winds, flooding and tornadoes occur nearly every year. Underwriters price to that, which is why a twenty-year-old membrane on a large flat roof narrows the field more than almost anything else on the application.
Percentage deductibles and how the roof is paid
Two lines on a Texas commercial quote decide what a hail claim is worth, and both are easy to miss.
- The wind and hail deductible. The Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel describes a wind and hail deductible as the broadest of the storm deductibles, and explains that a percentage deductible is figured on the amount of insurance, not on the amount of the claim. Its guide is written for homes; commercial policies use the same arithmetic. On a large building that percentage can exceed the cost of a new roof. Wind and hail coverage.
- Roof settlement. The Texas Department of Insurance’s review checklist for commercial property filings says actual cash value for roofs has been allowed, provided the cause of loss is limited to wind and hail and it is not used on a blanket basis. So a policy can pay replacement cost on the building and a depreciated amount on the roof. The Department’s consumer guide defines actual cash value as replacement cost minus depreciation.
- Cosmetic damage. Some policies exclude dents in metal roofing that do not leak. I look for that wording on every metal-roofed building.
I point to both lines on every quote I send. The same issues on a house are covered in Texas roof coverage, hail deductibles and actual cash value.
Tornadoes through commercial corridors
On the night of October 20, 2019 a tornado crossed north Dallas. The National Weather Service found the first damage in the city near I-35E and Walnut Hill Lane, followed it east between Walnut Hill and Royal Lane through Preston Hollow to near North Central Expressway and Forest Lane, and rated the strongest damage EF3 with winds near 140 miles per hour. Its survey photographs along Walnut Hill include a strip mall, large and small retail buildings and a small professional building. On December 26, 2015 the Sunnyvale–Garland–Rowlett tornado was rated EF4, the highest-rated December tornado on record in Dallas County.
For an owner the lesson is about limits. After a direct hit a rebuild generally has to meet current building code, and debris removal and lost rent can run for months. I check the ordinance or law limit, the debris removal limit and the period of restoration for rental income against what a real rebuild would take.
February 2021: frozen pipes inside commercial buildings
DFW Airport reached 2 degrees below zero on February 16, 2021 and stayed at or below freezing for 139 consecutive hours, according to the Fort Worth weather office. The Department of Insurance collected claim data on the event and reported damage from freezing pipes, falling limbs and the weight of ice and snow. In its June 30, 2022 summary about 10 percent of the claims were on commercial property policies, yet they made up 46 percent of paid losses, and commercial claims were staying open far longer than residential ones. Dallas County reported more claims than Tarrant County.
Since then underwriters ask how a building holds heat when the grid does not. Sprinkler lines over docks, in stair towers and above ceilings in vacant suites are the usual break points. A written freeze plan, low-temperature alarms and someone assigned to walk the building help the file. So does telling me about empty space: most policies restrict water damage and other coverage once a building has been largely vacant for a stated period. Vacant building coverage.
Warehouses and industrial buildings: roof size and stock
Warehouses and distribution buildings carry two problems together. A single roof can cover many acres, so a percentage deductible and a roof settled at actual cash value add up quickly. And the stock underneath often belongs to someone else.
- Whose stock is it? The owner’s policy covers the building. Tenant inventory belongs on the tenant’s policy, and a logistics operator needs warehouse legal liability for customers’ goods.
- How it is stored. Commodity, rack height and whether the sprinkler system was designed for that storage. A change of tenant can make a compliant system inadequate.
- Rooftop equipment and skylights. Hail guards on units and the age of skylights are standard questions.
More on warehouse coverage, and on lessor’s risk policies for owners who lease the whole building.
No plan of last resort inland, and flood is separate
Owners who have been declined often ask about the state plans. Neither one helps here. The Texas Insurance Code sets up the FAIR Plan to deliver residential property insurance, and the Department’s overview describes one narrow commercial exception, for property owners’ associations in an underserved area near the coast. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association writes wind and hail on residential and commercial property only in its designated area: the 14 first-tier coastal counties and part of Harris County east of Highway 146. A Dallas or Tarrant County building that standard insurers decline goes to the surplus lines market, usually with a higher deductible and tighter roof terms.
The Department also says most commercial property policies do not cover flooding. That takes a separate policy, from the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer, and the federal program has a 30-day waiting period. Buildings along the Trinity and its creeks, or with docks below grade, should price it. How flood coverage works.
What to send me
- Address, year built, stories and square footage for each building, with construction type.
- Roof facts: age, material, square footage, last replacement and any hail rating, with the invoice or warranty if you have it.
- Rent roll or tenant list, what each tenant does, and any vacant space.
- Leases or the insurance and repair clauses, so I can see who insures the building.
- Sprinkler and alarm details, the last inspection and your freeze plan.
- Electrical, plumbing and HVAC updates, with years.
- Current declarations pages and five years of loss runs, noting whether past hail damage was repaired.
I am an independent broker and I work with Texas building owners from my office in California.
Common questions
Who insures commercial buildings in Dallas–Fort Worth?
Standard insurers write many of them when the roof is newer and documented. Older roofs, large industrial roofs and buildings with hail claims often go to the surplus lines market, because Texas has no state plan of last resort for an inland commercial building.
Why did my commercial property insurance go up in Dallas?
Mostly hail. All six storms on the National Weather Service’s list of costliest Texas hail storms crossed North Texas, and insurers respond with higher rates, percentage wind and hail deductibles and tighter roof terms.
What is a percentage wind and hail deductible on a commercial building?
It is a deductible figured as a percentage of the amount of insurance on the building, not of the claim. It applies to wind and hail losses and is separate from the flat deductible for fire or theft.
Can my insurer pay actual cash value on my commercial roof in Texas?
Yes, if the policy says so. The Texas Department of Insurance’s commercial property checklist says actual cash value for roofs has been allowed when the cause of loss is limited to wind and hail, so read the roof endorsement before a storm.
Does the Texas FAIR Plan or TWIA cover a commercial building in Dallas?
No. The FAIR Plan is set up for residential property, and the windstorm association writes only in the designated coastal area.
Does commercial property insurance cover frozen pipes in Texas?
Usually, when the building was occupied and reasonable heat was maintained. Vacancy conditions and sprinkler leakage limits can change that, so tell me about empty space.
Is flood covered on my Dallas commercial building?
Not by a standard commercial property policy. Flood is a separate policy from the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer.
General information about insuring commercial buildings in the Dallas–Fort Worth area as of November 2026, not legal advice. Deductibles, roof settlement and vacancy terms vary by insurer and by policy; storm and claim figures come from the National Weather Service and the Texas Department of Insurance. Coverage depends on the policy issued. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.