Guide
Frozen pipes in Texas: what a freeze does, and what your policy expects
Updated
Texas housing stock is built for August, not for a week below freezing. The February 2021 winter storm remains the reference case for what happens when the whole state's plumbing freezes at once, and the lessons from it are practical rather than dramatic.
Why a hard freeze does so much damage here
- Pipes are in the wrong places. Attics, exterior walls, unheated garages and outdoor utility closets are ordinary locations for Texas plumbing and terrible ones in a freeze.
- The break shows up on the thaw. Water expanding as it freezes splits the pipe, but nothing pours out until the ice melts. A quiet freeze night is often followed by a very loud afternoon.
- Attic breaks flood downward through everything. A supply line above a ceiling puts water through insulation, drywall, lighting and flooring on the way down, which is why freeze losses are so often whole-house rather than one room.
- Power loss makes it worse. A house without heat freezes faster, and the same storm that drops the temperature often takes out the power.
- Everyone needs help in the same week. Plumbers, drying equipment and adjusters are all rationed by a statewide event, which is a scheduling reality rather than anyone's fault.
What TDI expects you to have done
This matters because it is a coverage condition, not just good advice: "Home and renters policies might not pay for damages caused by frozen pipes if you didn't take steps to protect your pipes, such as keeping the heater on in your house" (tdi.texas.gov). The department's published preparation list is worth following exactly, because it is the same list an adjuster will have in mind.
- Days before a freeze: "Wrap outdoor and indoor pipes in unheated areas (like a clothes washer in your garage). Remove water hoses and wrap outdoor pipes. Drain and turn off your lawn sprinkler system. Turn off the water to your clothes washer if it's in an unheated garage."
- If you are leaving the house before a freeze: "turn off the water at the shutoff valve and leave your heat on."
- During the freeze: "Open cabinets under sinks to let your house's heat warm the pipes," and "let faucets drip from the cold and hot taps" before bed, following any local restrictions on water use.
- If pipes do freeze: "turn off the water at the shutoff valve. This prevents broken pipes from leaking into your house after they thaw."
If a pipe has already burst
- Shut the water off at the main. Know where that valve is before you need it, and keep a key or wrench with it.
- Turn off electricity to affected areas at the breaker if water is anywhere near fixtures or outlets, and do not walk into standing water in a room with live power.
- Photograph and video everything, including the failed section of pipe, before anyone cuts it out. Keep the piece.
- Move what you can lift off wet floors. TDI notes that your insurer may deny a claim if you do not protect your property.
- Report it to your insurer and get a plumber and a drying company moving. In a statewide freeze, being early in the queue is most of the outcome.
The distinction that decides the claim
A burst pipe is water damage under a homeowners policy, not flood. TDI states directly that "flood insurance doesn't pay for damage caused by burst pipes". Conversely, water that rose off the ground and entered the building is flood, which a homeowners policy does not cover. When both happen in the same storm, the paperwork has to separate them, which is another reason to photograph everything early.
Nothing here is insurance advice. Coverage depends on your own policy wording and the facts of your loss. If you disagree with a decision, TDI runs a help line for Texas policyholders.