How Storm Damage Claims Are Filed in Brownsville

In July 2008, Brownsville experienced the effects of that combination firsthand when Hurricane Dolly struck near South Padre Island as a Category 2 hurricane, causing both wind damage and considerable flooding throughout Cameron County in the same event. The law offices of Ignacio Martinez assist homeowners in Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley after storms like that. What almost always surprises our clients is that a single storm can lead to two or three entirely separate insurance claims rather than just one, depending on the specific type of damage to the property.

The article explains the process for making these claims in Brownsville, including which insurance company or agency handles different types of damage and how local circumstances differ from the national guidelines. This is general information concerning how the process works and not legal advice relating to your particular claim.

When your wind and hail coverage is provided through TWIA rather than by a private policy, you should report the claim directly to TWIA and not to the company that handles the other parts of your homeowners insurance. TWIA will then assign an adjuster to inspect the property, and the adjuster’s report will form the basis of the amount that TWIA agrees to pay, which is why it is just as important to document the damage yourself before the adjuster arrives as it is in the case of a private insurance company. Since TWIA policies, like most property policies, require you to take steps to prevent further damage to the property after the storm—such as tarping a roof or boarding a broken window—TWIA expects you to keep receipts for any such work because it usually reimburses reasonable emergency repair costs as part of the claim. You can obtain all contact information, current forms, and TWIA’s specific claim‑reporting requirements directly from twia.org. Confirm the current filing window directly with TWIA, since reporting deadlines may be updated. Always follow the most current requirements rather than relying on information that may be one or two seasons out of date.

The homeowners’ policy or the TWIA coverage is entirely separate from a National Flood Insurance Program policy, which therefore has its own method of filing, its own adjuster, and historically its own proof-of-loss deadline—usually 60 days from the date of the loss—even though in the past FEMA has extended that deadline following certain major disaster declarations. You have to file the claim directly with the insurance company that issued you the NFIP policy, even though the federal government supports the policy via FEMA, and that company then appoints a flood adjuster who looks only for flood damage rather than wind damage. Because flood and wind damage can appear similar once drywall is wet and flooring is warped. Keep clear records showing when water entered your home and from which direction. This documentation helps both adjusters assign damage to the correct claim and prevents one insurer from shifting responsibility to the other. If Cameron County or the City of Brownsville receives a federal disaster declaration after a storm, review FEMA’s guidance for that specific event. FEMA sometimes extends proof-of-loss deadlines and adjusts other requirements once such a declaration is issued.

If the Texas Water Insurance Association (TWIA), the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), or your private insurance company denies your claim or provides an amount that you think is less than the true value of the damage, Texas law usually mandates that you send the insurer a formal pre-litigation notice letter before you can bring a lawsuit concerning a property claim. It gives the insurer a specific period of time in which to review the situation or make an improved offer prior to any litigation beginning. This rule appears in Texas Insurance Code Chapter 542A. Texas enacted it in 2017 mainly to address a sharp rise in hail-damage-related lawsuits across the state. The statute changes how courts and insurers handle property claim disputes procedurally. It does not alter the actual coverage terms of your policy. You must send the required notice and ensure the notice meets every content requirement stated in the law. Missing the notice or submitting an incomplete notice can create serious procedural obstacles if you later file a lawsuit. This specific requirement is one of the most common reasons homeowners choose to work with an attorney instead of proceeding on their own.

Most people who contact us after a storm have already submitted at least one claim. They have encountered a setback. This may be a claim rejection, a payment delay, or an offer that falls far short of the actual cost of repairs. We review the policy terms, the adjuster’s report, and the documentation the client already has to determine which of the three claim types applies to the damage. Incorrectly classifying the damage under the wrong type of claim is one of the main reasons why an insurance company denies a valid claim. If a claim requires a pre-suit notice or ultimately ends up needing a lawsuit, we take responsibility for carrying out that process.

Regarding the use of this article: the following is general information concerning how storm damage claims are handled in Brownsville and Cameron County and should not be considered legal advice about your individual policy or your particular claim. Since insurance policies differ from carrier to carrier, and depending on the endorsement, statutory deadlines may change. FEMA sometimes modifies NFIP requirements after a particular disaster declaration has been made. Check with TDI, TWIA, FEMA, or a qualified Texas attorney before making any decision based on the deadlines mentioned here.

A building’s roof being old doesn’t mean that it is automatically excluded from coverage. It does enable the insurance company to more easily justify the idea that part of the damage was due to age and wear rather than the storm. It is common for insurers to refer to granule loss, previous repairs, or the age of the roof as proof that the damage occurred before the storm. A proper roofing inspection that clearly shows damage matching a storm pattern gives you evidence to challenge a general denial based on wear and tear. Partial denials that cite wear and tear happen so often that they rank among the most common reasons homeowners ask me to review their claim.