Hail, your roof and selling: the order of operations

Plenty of DFW roofs have a story. The order you do things in (claim, repair, list) decides whether that story costs you a few thousand dollars or a buyer.

Texas leads the country in hail, 11 years running

Texas has logged more major hail events, meaning hail an inch or larger, than any other state every year from 2015 through 2025. That’s from the Insurance Information Institute’s tables of National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center data. In 2025 Texas had 902. Kansas was second with 375.

The claims match the weather. State Farm says Texas led the nation in its 2025 hail claims, at $1.4 billion. That’s one insurer, in one year.

If your roof hasn’t been hit, it’s been lucky, not skipped.

The deductible is a percentage

A Texas home deductible is often a percentage of the home’s insured value, not a flat dollar amount. United Policyholders, a consumer group, says 2% “has become the dominant standard deductible for wind and hail coverage across most of Texas.” The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) adds that the wind-and-hail deductible can differ from the one for other damage, so check the declarations page, which is the first page of the policy.

TDI’s own example shows how it bites. A home insured for $150,000 with a 5% deductible has a $7,500 deductible. If hail does $6,500 of roof damage, the policy pays nothing.

At 2% on a house insured for $300,000, you pay the first $6,000 of each claim. Deductibles on home policies apply per claim, not per year.

Roof age changes what a claim pays

TDI explains two kinds of coverage. Replacement cost pays to replace the roof at today’s prices. Actual cash value subtracts depreciation for age and wear. And TDI warns: “As roofs age, some companies will switch to actual cash value. And if your roof is in poor condition, your company might not cover your roof at all.”

Here’s TDI’s example: a $10,000 roof replacement on a house insured for $200,000 with a 2% ($4,000) deductible, on an actual cash value policy.

Roof age	Actual cash value of the roof	Policy pays after the deductible
5 years	$8,500	$4,500
10 years	$7,000	$3,000
20 years	$4,000	$0

On replacement cost coverage, the same claim pays $6,000 whatever the roof’s age. TDI is also plain that “your insurance company won’t pay for a new roof just because it’s old or worn out.”

Your buyer meets the same roof from the other side. TDI says an insurer inspects the roof when someone applies for a policy and “may charge you more or refuse to insure you based on what they see.” So an old roof shows up twice: in your claim check, and in your buyer’s insurance quote.

The disclosure trap

The current Texas REALTORS® Seller’s Disclosure Notice (TXR-1406, dated 06-15-26) asks about the roof, and the insurance behind it, in at least seven places:

• Section 1: roof type, approximate age, and whether there’s an overlay roof (new shingles over old ones).
• Section 2: whether you’re aware of defects in the “Roof.”
• Section 3: “Previous Roof Repairs or Replacement.”
• Section 5: whether you have “been unable to insure the Property for any reason.”
• Section 6: whether you have “ever filed a claim for any damage to the Property with any insurance provider.”
• Section 7, the one that trips people up: “Have you (Seller) ever received proceeds for a claim for damage to the Property (for example, an insurance claim or a settlement or award in a legal proceeding) and not used the proceeds to make the repairs for which the claim was made?”

That question was Section 12 on the 2023 version of the form; Texas REALTORS® reorganized it effective June 15, 2026. If you cashed a roof check and spent it on something else, the answer is yes, and the form asks you to explain. And Section 11 asks for any written inspection reports from the last 4 years, roof inspections included.

A yes is allowed. A wrong no is the problem. The form’s own note to sellers says failure to disclose known material information “may result in legal liability.” The claim isn’t private, either: TDI says insurers use CLUE reports, which list claims filed on a house for the past seven years, “even if you weren’t the owner at the time.”

Claim, then sell: the order of operations

1 · Document it, then patch it. Take photos and video before any work, and tarp the damage. TDI says to make only temporary repairs until the insurer sees it, because a company might deny a claim if you make permanent repairs first.

2 · File inside the deadline. Each policy sets its own. TDI says some policies have a one-year deadline unless you can show good cause for the delay.

3 · Know how the money arrives. On a replacement cost policy, the first check is the estimate minus depreciation and your deductible. The depreciation comes after the insurer gets the bill for the finished job, and you usually have to finish within a set time. If you have a mortgage, the check is made out to you and the mortgage company, which in most cases releases the money as the work is done.

4 · Pick one: repair it, or sell as-is and say so. Repair with the proceeds and you disclose a claim and a replacement roof, which is the easiest version of the story to tell. Cash the check and sell without repairing, and you answer yes on Section 7. The depreciation check, which the insurer pays only once repairs are under way or done, stays with the insurer.

5 · Don’t let a roofer “cover your deductible.” TDI: “It’s illegal for contractors to waive your deductible or help you avoid paying it.”

6 · Keep the house insured until closing. TDI says most companies stop coverage if a house is vacant for 60 days or more. If you’ve moved out, call your agent before the 60 days are up.

Hail after you sign a contract

On the standard TREC resale contract (TREC 20-19), if the property is damaged by “fire or other casualty” after the effective date, the seller “shall restore the Property to its previous condition as soon as reasonably possible, but in any event by the Closing Date.” If the seller can’t because of factors beyond their control, the buyer can terminate and get the earnest money back, extend closing by up to 15 days, or take the house as-is with an assignment of the insurance proceeds (if the insurer permits it) plus a credit for the deductible.

The upshot: a storm in the middle of a sale is the seller’s problem until closing, so the policy has to stay in force until then.

What we’d do

Get the adjuster’s estimate before deciding anything. Then put the roof into all three numbers: repaired before you list, sold as-is with the claim disclosed, or fixed on our fix-then-list path, where we can front the roof and get repaid at closing. You’ll see which one leaves you the most, in writing.