What is parametric insurance?

A traditional homeowners policy pays for your loss. Someone has to come out, measure the damage, subtract depreciation, subtract your deductible, and cut a check for what's left. That process is thorough, but it's slow, and in North Texas the deductible being subtracted is often 2–5% of your dwelling value.

A parametric policy pays for the event. The contract names a trigger and a payout. If verified data shows the trigger was met at your address, the payout is released — whether your roof is fine or flattened.

Triggers are written into the policy before anything happens, so there's nothing to argue about afterward. Typical wind, hail, and tornado triggers look like this:

• Wind: A measured gust at or above roughly 86 mph. Higher sustained speeds unlock larger tiers of the payout.
• Hail: A radar-derived hail score at or above about 65% for your location, which corresponds to hail large enough to damage a roof.
• Tornado: A confirmed tornado touching your area, paying in tiers from EF0 through EF5.
• Hurricane: A named storm making landfall within a defined radius at a defined category.

The data comes from sources like the National Weather Service, NOAA, and radar-based hail modeling — not from anyone's opinion about your shingles.

Parametric coverage is a layer, not a replacement. It earns its keep when there's a gap between what a storm costs you and what your homeowners policy pays:

• You've been moved to a separate 2%, 3%, or 5% wind and hail deductible.
• Your roof is covered at actual cash value (ACV) instead of replacement cost.
• You raised your deductible to keep the premium affordable.
• You want cash fast for a hotel, a tarp, a fence, or a contractor deposit.
• You'd rather not file a homeowners claim at all for a mid-sized loss.

As a rule of thumb, annual premium runs about 0.5–2% of the payout amount, depending on your ZIP code's storm history. A $25,000 payout commonly lands somewhere in the $250–$500 per year range; a $50,000 payout, roughly $500–$1,500. Hail-heavy counties price higher than the coast-free interior.

If the trigger is missed — 84 mph instead of 86, a hail score of 60% instead of 65% — you get nothing, even if your roof took real damage. That's the price of a policy that skips the adjuster. It's why parametric belongs on top of a homeowners policy, never instead of one.

1. After the storm passes and it's safe, look over your property.
2. File in the carrier's portal with the event type, date, a short description, and a few photos — or send it to me and I'll walk it through with you.
3. The carrier checks official weather data for your address. Published data can take a few days to finalize.
4. Once the trigger is confirmed, the payout is direct-deposited — typically inside 7–10 days. No estimates, no receipts, no entry on your CLUE report.