Texas renters: a weather claim shouldn't raise your rate

An analysis from Ingram Insurance Group, distributed through PR Newswire, points at a Texas rule most renters have never heard of. Insurers in the state are not allowed to surcharge a renters policy over claims caused by natural events, including weather, or over claims that were denied and paid nothing.

Fear of a rate hike is why a lot of renters quietly absorb a loss they already paid premiums to cover. Hail cracking a window, wind-driven rain soaking your furniture, a storm-downed limb through the glass: those are the claims the rule is built around. One caveat. No surcharge is not the same as no record, because claims typically stay on your loss history report for about seven years. A carrier can still weigh how often you file when you renew or when you shop elsewhere.

An independent agent can tell you whether a specific loss is worth filing, and what it does to your record, before you make the call.