Step 1
You file your claim.
Notice goes to the carrier. The clock doesn't start yet — it starts when they have everything they need to evaluate the claim.
Texas Insurance Code · Chapter 542
If a covered Texas property claim is paid late, statutory interest may apply.
Texas law gives carriers 60 days to pay your claim once they have what they need. Miss the deadline, and statutory interest accrues every single day until the claim is paid in full. Most policyholders never know they're owed it. We help document the claim timeline, calculate potential interest, and present the issue to the carrier.
We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. Our work is limited to public-adjusting services, claim documentation, timeline analysis, and carrier claim presentations.
I.
The 60-day rule, in plain English
Texas built a clock into your policy.
It runs against the insurance company. It pays you. Almost no one tells policyholders about it — but it's been state law for thirty years.
Step 2
The carrier has 60 days to pay.
Once the carrier has the documents and information they reasonably need, Texas Insurance Code §542.058 gives them 60 days to pay. Not investigate. Not negotiate. Pay.
Step 3
Day 61: interest starts.
After the applicable payment deadline passes, statutory interest may begin to accrue on unpaid covered amounts.
II.
Standard rate vs. weather "Act of God" floating rate
Two rates. Pick the right one.
Texas applies different penalty rates depending on whether your loss was caused by an Act of God. The difference matters — sometimes by tens of thousands of dollars on the same delay.
§542.060(a) · Standard
18% per year, fixed.
Applies to non-weather first-party property claims and to weather-related losses with a date of loss before September 1, 2017. Eighteen percent simple interest, accruing daily from the date payment was required, until the claim is paid in full. The rate doesn't move — it's locked in by statute.
Common: fire · water · plumbing · theft · vandalism
§542.060(c) · Act of God
Floating rate · currently 11.75%.
Applies to weather-caused property damage claims under Chapter 542A with a date of loss on or after September 1, 2017. For Chapter 542A claims, the rate is determined by the judgment-interest rate applicable at judgment, plus 5%. For illustration, the April 2026 rate would produce 11.75%.
Common: hail · wind · hurricane · tornado · freeze
Chapter 542A also imposes a 60-day pre-suit notice requirement on weather claims. The carrier must receive specific notice and have a chance to inspect and offer settlement before suit. The notice triggers its own clock — and missing the §542A notice can cap your damages.
III.
Hail, wind & hurricane claims
Storm losses are where carriers stall the most.
After every major Texas storm — hail in DFW, derecho in Houston, hurricane on the Gulf — claim volume spikes and carrier processing times collapse. The §542 deadlines don't move. They just get missed.
Storm claim red flags
- Carrier inspection delayed 30+ days after notice — common after named storms when carriers are overwhelmed.
- Repeated requests for the same documents the carrier already has on file. Each request resets nothing — the clock keeps running.
- Field adjuster's estimate slashed by desk review or a "QA" process. The original estimate often shows the true scope.
- "Wear and tear" or "pre-existing" denials on roof claims with documented hail. EagleView and weather data are powerful here.
- Partial payment followed by silence. Once the carrier accepts, §542.057 puts them on a 5-business-day clock.
The §542A framework
- 60-day pre-suit notice required before filing. Notice must include specific damages alleged and reasonable detail.
- Carrier may inspect within the notice period. Refusing to allow inspection can shift attorney's fee exposure.
- Floating interest rate at §304.003 + 5% — currently 11.75%. Calculated daily on the unpaid amount.
- Different attorney's fee structure than standard claims. Notice is critical to preserving fee recovery.
- Hinojos still applies — appraisal payments don't extinguish interest on amounts paid late.
Hail · Wind · Hurricane
Run the floating-rate math.
The calculator handles both regimes. Toggle to §542.060(c) for weather claims after September 1, 2017, and the floating rate populates automatically based on the current §304.003 judgment rate.
Open the calculator →We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. Our work is limited to public-adjusting services, claim documentation, timeline analysis, and carrier claim presentations.
IV.
Fire, smoke & water damage claims
Non-weather losses get the full 18%.
Fire, smoke, water, plumbing, theft, and vandalism claims fall under the standard §542.060(a) framework — eighteen percent per year, locked. Carriers know it. They drag investigations anyway.
Fire & smoke damage
- Total-loss disputes on ACV vs. RCV. Carrier delays often hide a low ACV settlement strategy.
- Smoke and soot scope minimized — carrier limits cleanup to visible affected rooms while structure-wide testing supports broader scope.
- Contents inventory dragged out for months. Insureds give up; carriers count on it.
- Code upgrade coverage ignored or capped without proper application of policy ordinance/law endorsement.
- Additional Living Expense processed slowly while the family is displaced.
Water & plumbing damage
- "Long-term seepage" denials on what was a sudden discharge — IICRC standards distinguish these and carriers blur them.
- Mold investigation stretched to push the claim out of the §542.058 window. It doesn't work — the clock runs.
- Mitigation vs. repair disputes where carriers pay for drying but balk at remediation and rebuild.
- Multiple cause-of-loss letters requesting cause-and-origin reports the carrier is supposed to procure.
- Hidden damage behind walls, under flooring, in HVAC — discovered later and treated as a "new" claim.
V.
Appraisal awards & late payment
If your appraisal came in higher than the carrier's offer, you may still be owed statutory interest.
In Hinojos v. State Farm Lloyds, 619 S.W.3d 651 (Tex. 2021), the Texas Supreme Court held that paying an appraisal award does not wipe out §542.060 interest on amounts the carrier should have paid earlier. The clock keeps running.
Before Hinojos
Carriers used appraisal as a get-out-of-jail card.
Stall the claim. Force appraisal. Pay the award. Argue §542 was satisfied because the appraisal amount was paid. Many courts agreed.
2021 · Hinojos
Texas Supreme Court closed the loophole.
If the carrier's pre-appraisal payment was less than the appraisal award, the underpaid portion was always owed — and §542.060 interest accrues on it from the date payment was originally due.
After Hinojos
Late appraisal payments now carry serious interest.
On a $100,000 underpayment delayed eighteen months at 18%, the interest alone is $26,630. The math is automatic once the underlying figures are set.
Post-appraisal review · Free
Already been through appraisal?
Send us the file. We'll calculate exactly what §542.060 interest accrued on the underpaid portion between the original payment deadline and the appraisal award date. Most policyholders never claim it.
Request a post-appraisal review →We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. Our work is limited to public-adjusting services, claim documentation, timeline analysis, and carrier claim presentations.
VI.
Does your claim qualify?
Many Texas first-party property claims may qualify
But eligibility depends on coverage, payment history, claim documentation, carrier requests, deadlines, and the reason for any delay. Here's how to tell.
Likely qualifies
- Carrier accepted the claim and underpaid or paid late.
- Carrier never accepted or rejected within 60 days of complete documentation.
- Hail or wind claim with date of loss after Sept. 1, 2017 (Chapter 542A — separate floating-rate framework).
- Claim went to appraisal and the award was paid late or higher than the carrier's original offer (Hinojos v. State Farm, 2021).
- If the carrier did not reasonably request additional information — the payment timeline may run from the carrier’s receipt of claim notice or other required claim materials, depending on the facts.
Probably doesn't
- Coverage was denied with a reasonable, documented basis.
- The insured caused delay — refused inspection, didn't return calls, withheld documents.
- Workers' comp, surety, marine, fidelity, title, or reinsurance claims (carved out by §542.052).
- Bona fide investigation with proper §542.059 written extensions.
- Claim was paid in full within 60 days.
Free · No sign-up
The interest calculator.
Built around Texas Insurance Code §542.060. Two ways to compute: enter the date payment was due, or use the 60-day rule from your notice or documentation date. Daily accrual, statute citations, exportable memo.
Open the calculator →We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. Our work is limited to public-adjusting services, claim documentation, timeline analysis, and carrier claim presentations.
VII.
How recovery works
Four steps. No upfront cost.
As a Texas-licensed public adjusting firm, we work on contingency. We don't get paid unless you do. Here's the process from intake to recovery.
1
Free claim review
Send us your claim file, denials, payment history, and correspondence. We review the timeline against §542.055–.058 deadlines and tell you whether interest is owed.
2
Timeline forensics
We document every notice, document request, response, and partial payment. We pinpoint the exact date the §542.058 60-day clock started and the date the carrier breached.
3
Demand & negotiate
We submit a written claim presentation that documents unpaid benefits, relevant payment dates, and any calculated statutory-interest issue for the carrier’s review. Most carriers settle once the math is on the table.
4
You get paid
Recovery goes to you, the policyholder. Our public adjusting fee is contingent on what we collect — the standard Texas PA contingency, capped by §4102.104.
VIII.
Who we are
A Texas-licensed PA firm built around §542.
18%
Standard penalty rate · §542.060(a)
60
Days the carrier has to pay
$0
Cost to review your claim
Most policyholders pay their premiums for years and never know that Texas law specifically penalizes carriers for sitting on their claims. We built Enforce Interest because we kept seeing claims paid late — sometimes by months, sometimes by years — without anyone ever raising the §542.060 interest the policyholder was owed.
Rise Public Adjusting is a Texas Department of Insurance–licensed public adjusting firm. We handle residential and commercial property claims across the state, with a particular focus on disputed, underpaid, and slow-paid losses. Our practice combines hands-on claim adjusting with timeline forensic analysis under the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act.
If you've waited longer than two months for an insurance company to pay a Texas property claim, we want to look at your file. The review is free, the math is the math, and you may be owed substantially more than the policy benefits alone.
IX.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to what most policyholders ask.
Under Texas Insurance Code §542.058, an insurance company has 60 days to pay a claim once it has received everything it reasonably needs to evaluate the claim. If the carrier misses this deadline, §542.060 entitles the policyholder to 18% per year statutory interest on the unpaid amount, plus reasonable and necessary attorney's fees. The rule was enacted as part of the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act and has been the law since 1991.
For most claims, the rate is 18% per year, simple interest, accruing daily from the date payment was required until the claim is paid in full. For weather-related property claims with a date of loss on or after September 1, 2017, Chapter 542A applies and the rate floats at the §304.003 judgment rate plus 5% — currently 11.75% as of April 2026. Interest is calculated on the unpaid portion of the claim, including any amount eventually paid through appraisal.
Most Texas first-party property claims qualify, including homeowners, commercial property, fire, hail, wind, and water damage claims. The threshold requirements are: (1) the carrier missed a statutory deadline (most commonly the §542.058 60-day catch-all or the §542.057 5-business-day post-acceptance deadline); (2) the carrier owed money on the claim that wasn't paid in time; and (3) the delay wasn't caused by the policyholder. Workers' comp, surety, marine, fidelity, and title insurance are carved out by §542.052.
Not always. A licensed Texas public adjuster can pursue your claim and document statutory interest as part of the overall recovery. Most carriers will resolve §542.060 demands without litigation once the timeline analysis is presented. An attorney becomes necessary only if the carrier refuses to pay and a lawsuit is required — and §542.060 specifically provides for reasonable attorney's fees if you have to sue.
The Texas Supreme Court held in Hinojos v. State Farm Lloyds, 619 S.W.3d 651 (Tex. 2021), that payment of an appraisal award does not extinguish §542.060 interest on amounts the carrier should have paid earlier. Interest continues to accrue on the underpaid portion from the date payment was originally required through the date the appraisal award was actually paid. If your appraisal came in higher than the carrier's pre-appraisal payment, you may be owed substantial interest on the difference.
Initial claim review is free. If we take the engagement, we work on the standard Texas public adjusting contingency — a percentage of what we recover, capped by Texas Insurance Code §4102.104. You pay nothing out of pocket. If we don't recover anything, you owe nothing.
Yes. Most Texas property insurance policies have a contractual limitations period (often two years from the date of loss) in addition to the four-year statute of limitations on insurance contract claims under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.051. Interest also stops accruing once the claim is paid — so the longer the delay continues unaddressed, the more potential interest you have, but you also need to act before the limitations period closes the door entirely.
The 60-day clock starts when the carrier received the last document they reasonably needed. If they kept making document requests as a delay tactic — asking for the same things repeatedly, asking for things they could obtain themselves, or asking for things irrelevant to your claim — the clock may have started earlier than they say. This is exactly the kind of timeline analysis we do as part of a free claim review.
For weather-caused property damage with a date of loss on or after September 1, 2017, Chapter 542A applies and the penalty rate floats. It equals the §304.003 judgment rate plus 5%, with a statutory floor of 10% and ceiling of 20%. The §304.003 rate is published monthly by the Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner and tracks prime. As of April 2026 the §304.003 rate is 6.75%, producing a §542.060(c) effective rate of 11.75%. The floating rate covers hail, wind, hurricane, tornado, and freeze claims.
Chapter 542A requires policyholders to give carriers at least 60 days written pre-suit notice before filing a lawsuit on a weather-related claim. The notice must identify the acts or omissions complained of and the specific damages sought. The carrier has the right to inspect the property within that 60-day window. Failure to give proper notice can cap or eliminate attorney's fee recovery, even if the underlying claim is meritorious. Getting §542A notice right is critical — it's a hard prerequisite for full recovery on storm losses post-9/1/2017.
Yes. Hail, wind, hurricane, tornado, and freeze losses are first-party property claims under Chapter 542 — the §542.058 60-day deadline applies the same way it does to any other claim. The only difference is the rate: weather claims with date of loss before September 1, 2017 use the standard 18%; weather claims on or after that date use the §542A floating rate (currently 11.75%).