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Home Insurance in High Hurricane Risk States
Deductible-state list from NAIC; TWIA program details cross-confirmed via secondary summaries after a direct twia.org fetch failed.
Beyond the deductible math, several hurricane-prone states run a completely separate kind of insurance program for wind risk specifically. Here is what actually exists, and how it differs from a FAIR Plan.
Data sourced from NAIC, TWIA
Beyond the deductible: dedicated windstorm insurance pools
19 states plus DC (20 total) have a documented common practice of a separate percentage-based hurricane or named-storm deductible, per NAIC. That deductible mechanic, and how it interacts with a completely separate flood policy, is covered in detail in this site's own how hurricane deductibles work post.
This post covers a different, less commonly understood layer: market availability, specifically the dedicated windstorm insurance pools some of these states run for coastal wind risk.
Texas's approach: a wind-and-hail-only insurer of last resort
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) is Texas's insurer of last resort for wind and hail coverage specifically, created by the Texas Legislature in 1971 for homes in 28 designated first- and second-tier coastal counties that cannot obtain wind coverage through the standard private market.
It carried roughly $4.3 billion in funding for the 2026 hurricane season. The important detail: TWIA covers wind and hail only, not a full homeowners policy, so a TWIA policyholder still needs a separate standard policy to cover everything else a normal homeowners policy would include.
Florida's approach: a broader insurer of last resort
Florida's Citizens Property Insurance Corporation serves a similar underlying purpose, coverage of last resort for homes that cannot get standard-market insurance, but it is structured more broadly than TWIA.
Citizens writes full homeowners policies, not just wind and hail coverage, reflecting how constrained Florida's overall private homeowners insurance market has become, not just the wind-risk portion of it specifically.
To check whether your own state has a FAIR Plan as a general fallback, separate from any windstorm-specific program, the state FAIR Plan home insurance cost estimator covers that broader question directly.
FAIR Plan vs. a windstorm pool: not the same thing
A FAIR Plan is generally a broader insurer of last resort, commonly covering fire risk among other perils, for homes that cannot get standard coverage for any reason.
A dedicated windstorm pool like TWIA is narrower by design, wind and hail specifically, for a defined coastal geography. Several hurricane-prone states, including Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, have some form of FAIR Plan in addition to whatever windstorm-specific program exists there too, which means a homeowner in one of these states genuinely needs to check which specific program actually applies to their situation, rather than assuming any one "last resort" option covers everything.
Frequently asked questions
How many states have hurricane-specific insurance rules?
19 states plus DC (20 total) have a documented common practice of a separate percentage-based hurricane or named-storm deductible, according to NAIC, cross-confirmed against Insurance.com and Policygenius. That is a distinct question from deductible mechanics, though, which a companion post on this site covers in detail, this post focuses on market availability instead.
What is the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association?
TWIA is Texas's insurer of last resort for wind and hail coverage specifically, created by the state legislature in 1971 for homes in 28 designated first- and second-tier coastal counties that cannot obtain wind coverage in the standard private market.
It carried roughly $4.3 billion in funding for the 2026 hurricane season. TWIA covers wind and hail only, not a full homeowners policy, so a TWIA policyholder still needs a separate standard policy for everything else.
Is Florida's Citizens Property Insurance the same kind of program?
It serves a similar purpose, an insurer of last resort for homes that cannot get standard coverage, but it is broader than TWIA: Citizens writes full homeowners policies, not just wind and hail, for Florida homeowners who cannot find private-market coverage.
It is one of the best-known state-created insurers of last resort in the country given how constrained Florida's private homeowners market has become.
Does a FAIR Plan cover the same thing as a windstorm pool like TWIA?
Not exactly, and the distinction matters. A FAIR Plan is generally a broader insurer of last resort covering multiple perils, commonly including fire risk, for homes that cannot get standard coverage for any reason.
A dedicated windstorm pool like TWIA is narrower by design, wind and hail specifically, for a defined coastal geography. Several hurricane-prone states, including Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, have some form of FAIR Plan in addition to whatever windstorm-specific program also exists there, so check which specific program actually applies to your situation rather than assuming they are interchangeable.