Short-term rental insurance in Texas.

Austin and Dallas run urban and event-driven STR economies. Houston layers tropical-climate risk over a major metro. San Antonio adds a historic tourism core, the Hill Country runs rivers and ranch properties, and the coast, Galveston to South Padre, is a wind market. Pricing, appetite, and policy structure vary dramatically across them.

North Texas is hail country, and roof claims dominate, which is why carriers scrutinize roof age and maintenance records there above all else. Houston and the river corridors carry serious flood exposure, a lesson written in Harvey and re-taught by the 2025 Hill Country flooding, and flood is excluded from standard forms statewide. On the coast, much of the wind risk runs through the state windstorm association rather than the private market, with its own rules and limits.

Texas sets almost nothing at the state level beyond a 6 percent hotel occupancy tax, so the cities carry the regulation, and 2026 brought major change. Houston’s first citywide ordinance took effect in January 2026: every operator must register, display a city certificate number, and carry at least $1 million in liability coverage per occurrence, and platforms began removing unregistered listings that spring. Austin overhauled its rules in late 2025, requiring a city operating license with the number shown on every listing, and since July 2026 platforms must delist unlicensed properties. Dallas moved to confine rentals to multifamily and commercial zones, and San Antonio splits permits into owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied types with insurance among its conditions. Arlington requires $1 million in liability coverage outright. Confirm the city, and the insurance it now demands, before you buy.