If you are a Texas coastal property owner who needs to get wind and hail insurance through TWIA, the Texas Insurance Code Chapter 2210 requires your property to be certified as meeting windstorm building code requirements in your area. This Windstorm Certificate of Compliance must be provided to TWIA before the property can be eligible for TWIA coverage.
Without a Certificate of Compliance, TWIA lacks evidence that the structure conforms to applicable building codes, and it may be considered uninsurable and ineligible for coverage with TWIA.
Visit our Coverage and Eligibility webpage to learn more about TWIA eligibility requirements.
TWIA accepted applications for WPI-8-Cs from January 1, 2017 to May 31, 2020.
If you are looking for a Certificate of Compliance before or after that date range, it would have been processed and/or issued by TDI.
Important Note: Certificates issued by TWIA are not currently available on TDI’s website, or on TWIA’s website.
As outlined in the Texas Insurance Code, there are two exceptions to the TWIA eligibility requirement:
Some common examples of improvements that need to be certified include:
A full list of improvements that do not need to be certified is available on the TDI website. Some examples include:
As of June 1, 2020, all Certificates of Compliance are issued by the Texas Department of Insurance as part of its Windstorm Inspection Program. Please visit the TDI website to learn more about their certification process: www.tdi.texas.gov/wind
TWIA began issuing Certificates of Compliance on January 1, 2017, as a result of legislation passed in 2015. TWIA stopped issuing Certificates of Compliance on May 31, 2020, as a result of legislation passed in 2019.
From January 1, 2017 to May 31, 2020, there were two routes to obtain a Certificate of Compliance – one through TWIA and the other through TDI – and which one property owners followed was based on the construction status of the improvement to be certified.
As of June 1, 2020, there is only one route to certification: through TDI.
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) administers the Windstorm Inspection Program and issues all Certificates of Compliance.
TDI Windstorm Inspection Program
Field offices in Beaumont, La Marque, Angleton, and Corpus Christi
Certificates of Compliance go by several names:
Additional terms to know:
New and ongoing improvement: These are improvements whose construction has not begun or has not finished yet. This includes new structures and the following changes to existing structures: alterations, remodeling, enlargement, repairs (including reroofing), and additions.
Completed improvement: An improvement in which the original transfer of title from the builder to the initial owner of the improvement has occurred, or if a transfer is not contemplated, an improvement that is substantially completed.
Substantially completed: An improvement for which the final framing stage, including attachment of component and cladding items and installation of windborne debris protection, has been completed. If the improvement’s windborne debris protection consists of wood structural panels, all the panels must be present at the improvement’s location but need not be installed.