If you live in Argyle, your insurance needs probably look nothing like your friend's policy in suburban Dallas. With a median home price of $975,000, ranch properties stretching across multiple acres, and half the town keeping horses in their backyards, the cookie-cutter homeowners policy your agent tries to sell you won't cut it. You need coverage built for what Argyle actually is: an affluent equestrian community where your neighbor's "home" includes a climate-controlled barn, professional riding arena, and livestock worth more than most people's cars.
Here's what you need to know about protecting your Argyle property, your animals, and the lifestyle you've invested in building here.
Why Standard Homeowners Insurance Fails Argyle Residents
Your standard homeowners policy is designed for a 2,000-square-foot house on a quarter acre in suburbia. It assumes your biggest risk is someone slipping on your front steps, not a guest getting kicked by your quarter horse or a tree falling on your $200,000 barn. When you own property in Argyle—especially the ranch estates and equestrian facilities common here—you're combining residential, agricultural, and sometimes commercial exposures under one roof.
Most Argyle homeowners discover this gap when they file a claim and learn their policy excludes farm structures, doesn't cover livestock, and provides zero protection for the Gator they use daily around their property. If you have an agricultural exemption on your taxes, that's a red flag that you need farm and ranch insurance, not just homeowners coverage.
The other issue? Dwelling coverage limits. With Argyle home values ranging from $685,000 to well over $5 million, the standard $300,000 dwelling coverage most policies offer won't come close to rebuilding your custom home. After a total loss, you'd be looking at hundreds of thousands out of pocket—and that's before accounting for the current construction costs that have skyrocketed across North Texas.
What Farm and Ranch Insurance Actually Covers in Argyle
Farm and ranch insurance is a bundled policy that addresses both the residential and agricultural sides of your property. Think of it as homeowners insurance plus commercial coverage, all tailored to the specific risks you face on acreage outside city limits.
On the residential side, you get dwelling coverage for your home, other structures coverage for barns and outbuildings, personal property protection, and liability coverage. The key difference is the limits are appropriate for high-value properties and the structures coverage extends to agricultural buildings your homeowners policy would exclude.
The agricultural side is where it gets interesting. You can add farm equipment coverage for tractors, UTVs, and mowers; livestock mortality coverage for your horses and cattle; care, custody, and control coverage if you board horses for others; and liability protection for farm operations. If you give riding lessons, host events, or run any kind of equestrian business from your property, you'll need professional liability and additional commercial coverage.
Here's the thing most people miss: even if you're not running a business, the moment you let someone ride your horse or board their animal on your property, you've crossed into commercial liability territory. A guest falls off during a casual trail ride? That's a lawsuit your homeowners policy won't touch. Another person's horse gets injured while you're caring for it? Without care, custody, and control coverage, you're personally liable for vet bills and potentially the horse's full value.
The Denton County Hail Problem Nobody Warns You About
Argyle sits squarely in North Texas's hail corridor, and that fact shapes your entire insurance picture. In 2026, carriers are hyper-focused on roof age and material when underwriting policies. If your roof is composition shingles over 15 years old, you're going to struggle to find coverage with standard carriers. Some companies won't write you at all; others will only offer actual cash value coverage on the roof instead of replacement cost, meaning you'll eat most of the depreciation if you need a new roof after a hailstorm.
The solution many Argyle homeowners are choosing is impact-resistant shingles rated Class 4. Yes, they cost more upfront—sometimes 20-30% more than standard composition. But they qualify you for premium discounts, make you insurable with better carriers, and hold up dramatically better when golf-ball-sized hail comes through every spring. Some carriers offer discounts up to 35% for Class 4 roofs, which can offset the installation cost within five to seven years.
Claim history matters too. If your property has multiple hail claims in recent years, expect non-renewal notices or premium increases of 40% or more. This is why some longtime Argyle residents eat minor hail damage rather than filing claims—they're protecting their insurability for when something catastrophic happens.
Umbrella Liability: The Coverage Wealthy Argyle Residents Can't Skip
With a median household income of $172,604 and home values approaching seven figures, Argyle residents represent attractive lawsuit targets. Your standard liability limit of $300,000 or $500,000 won't come close to protecting your assets if someone gets seriously hurt on your property or you cause a major auto accident.
Umbrella liability insurance sits above your home and auto policies, providing an additional $1 million to $5 million in coverage. It's remarkably affordable—typically $200 to $400 per year for the first million, with additional millions costing even less. For what you pay monthly for streaming services, you can protect everything you've built from a single catastrophic claim.
The umbrella becomes even more critical if you have equestrian activities, swimming pools, trampolines, or regularly host guests. These are all high-liability exposures where injuries can easily exceed your underlying policy limits. The umbrella also typically covers things your base policies exclude, like libel, slander, and false arrest—relevant if you're active on social media or in community leadership.
How to Actually Get Insured in Argyle
Don't start with an online quote tool. The complexity of Argyle properties—the acreage, the outbuildings, the horses, the high values—means you need an agent who specializes in farm and ranch insurance and understands equestrian risks. Look for someone who works with multiple carriers, because you'll likely need one company for your dwelling, another for your livestock, and possibly a third for commercial liability if you run any kind of business from the property.
Before you call, gather your property details: exact square footage of your home and all structures, roof age and material, claim history for the past five years, and a list of any livestock, farm equipment, or vehicles you use on the property. If you have horses, know their approximate values. If you board horses for others or give lessons, be upfront about it—trying to hide commercial activity will get your claims denied later.
Budget for higher premiums than you'd pay in suburban Dallas. The average Texas homeowners policy costs $3,714 per year, but Argyle policies routinely run $5,000 to $10,000 or more when you factor in the higher dwelling values, farm coverage, and the hail risk. If that sounds expensive, remember you're insuring assets worth seven figures. The real expense would be discovering you're underinsured after a total loss.
Finally, review your coverage annually. Argyle home values jumped 18.5% in the last year alone. If your dwelling coverage hasn't kept pace, you're sliding toward being underinsured. Your agent should be adjusting your limits automatically, but verify it. The worst time to discover you only have 70% of the coverage you need is when you're standing in the ashes of your home.
