In June 2025, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 458 — one of the most significant changes to homeowner insurance rights in Texas in decades. If you own a home in Texas, this law directly affects what happens when your insurance company disputes the value of your storm damage claim.
Here is what it means, what changed, and how you can use it to your advantage.
Senate Bill 458 — now codified as Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1813 — requires that every residential property insurance policy issued or renewed in Texas after January 1, 2026 must contain a binding appraisal clause. This applies to homeowners policies, dwelling policies, and renters policies across the state.
Before this law, insurers had been quietly removing appraisal provisions from their policies, leaving homeowners with no efficient way to challenge a low settlement offer short of filing a lawsuit. SB 458 reverses that. Your right to demand independent appraisal is now guaranteed by Texas law — not something your insurance company can quietly strip away.
The insurance industry had been removing appraisal clauses from policies for years. In 2015, one major auto carrier successfully filed to remove the appraisal process from its partial loss policies. Without a statutory requirement, state regulators had no authority to force it back in. The same erosion was happening in property policies.
Texas homeowners — particularly in storm-prone areas like the DFW Metroplex, Houston, and South Texas — were being left with two bad choices when an insurer undervalued their claim: accept the lowball offer, or hire an attorney and spend years in litigation. SB 458 creates a third option that is faster, cheaper, and genuinely independent.
Key fact: Research on appraisal outcomes in Texas shows that appraisal decisions favor policyholders significantly — with settlements often increasing by 30–40% compared to the insurer's initial offer. That's thousands of extra dollars back in your pocket, without a lawsuit.
Here is the structure that Texas law now requires:
The appraisal process resolves disputes about the amount of loss — not about whether a loss is covered. If your claim was denied outright (the insurer says your damage isn't covered at all), appraisal is not the right tool. In that case, you likely need a public adjuster or an attorney to challenge the denial first.
SB 458 also does not apply to commercial insurance policies or policies issued by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).
If you live in Southlake, Keller, Arlington, Fort Worth, Rockwall, or anywhere else in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, your right to binding appraisal is now written into every residential insurance policy you have. The next time your insurer sends an estimate that doesn't come close to covering what your roofing contractor quoted, you don't have to accept it.
First Call Appraisal handles the entire process for DFW homeowners — from sending the formal demand letter to conducting the property inspection to representing you through the appraisal panel. Our fee is contingency-based: you pay nothing upfront, and we only collect if we increase your settlement.
Get a free review from a licensed Texas insurance appraiser. No fees until you get more.
Request Your Free Claim ReviewIt applies to policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026. If your policy renewed after that date, you are covered by the new law.
No. Under Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1813, once appraisal is properly demanded, your insurer must participate. If they refuse, there are legal remedies available to compel their participation.
Yes, with narrow exceptions. A court can only set aside a Texas appraisal award on grounds of fraud, accident, or material mistake — not simply because the insurer disagrees with the outcome.
Contact First Call Appraisal for a free claim review. We evaluate your policy, your current settlement offer, and whether appraisal is the right path for your specific situation. If it is, we handle everything from there.