Texas Supreme Court hears whether "windstorm" deductible covers tornado damage

At oral arguments before the Supreme Court of Texas in case no. 240132, counsel debated whether the word “windstorm” in a homeowner policy’s deductible covers a tornado that damaged the insureds’ home.

The question matters because the court’s definition would determine whether a 2% windstorm deductible applies to tornado damage under the policy at issue and could affect how insurers draft exclusions and how insured Texans understand their coverage.

Mister DeBose, arguing for the petitioner, told the court that the policy’s undefined term should be given its ordinary meaning and that “the common feature of all those definitions of wind is a strong or a violent wind.” He argued the tornado at issue falls within that ordinary meaning and emphasized the summary‑judgment evidence that, according to a meteorologist’s affidavit in the record, “there was likely 2 minutes of rain” after the tornado, which he said qualifies as “little or no rain” for dictionary definitions that…