Business Insurance in Texas

What Insurance Does a Business Need in Texas?

Required by Texas law: auto liability on every vehicle, plus a TxDMV filing for trucks over 26,000 pounds. Workers comp only in specific cases, because Texas lets most private employers choose. Required by your deals: general liability, property, and often an umbrella. Required by your license: several state trade licenses set their own general liability minimums.

Is Workers Comp Required in Texas?

Not for most private employers. Labor Code 406.002 says that, except for public employers and as otherwise provided by law, an employer may elect to obtain workers' compensation coverage. Employers that go without it are called non-subscribers.

Going without is not the same as doing nothing. A non-subscriber has to file a notice with the Division of Workers' Compensation every year between February 1 and April 30, tell each new hire in writing, post a notice at the workplace, and accept that injured employees can sue without the usual employer defenses. Contractors on government construction contracts must carry it. Full details on our Texas workers comp page.

Is 30-60-25 Full Coverage in Texas?

No. 30/60/25 is the minimum liability limit, and it only pays for damage you cause to others. It does nothing for your own truck. Here is what Texas requires on business vehicles:

Texas requires liability coverage of at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage on any motor vehicle (Transportation Code 601.072). That is the 30/60/25 minimum.

Heavier trucks add a second layer. TxDMV requires a TxDMV number to operate a commercial motor vehicle or combination with a gross weight, registered weight or gross weight rating over 26,000 pounds, and private or for-hire carriers in that class must carry at least $500,000 and keep an active insurance filing in TxMCCS at all times while operating in Texas. A contractor's own dump truck, water truck or tandem equipment hauler can trigger it even if you never haul for anyone else.

Employees driving their own cars or rentals on company business need hired and non-owned auto coverage on your policy, because their personal policy may not respond the way you expect.

The Policies That Make Up a Texas Business Program

General liability

Injury to other people and damage to their property caused by your business, including products and completed work. Texas Insurance Code chapter 151 limits what a construction contract can make you insure for someone else.

Business owners policy

Packages GL, property and business income for smaller businesses that qualify.

Commercial property

Your building or improvements, inventory and equipment, plus business income while a loss shuts you down. Check how your policy handles wind and hail, including any separate deductible, before storm season and not after.

Workers compensation

Elective for most private employers, but it is how most businesses keep employee injuries out of court. Texas Mutual Insurance Company is the statutory insurer of last resort, and licensed private carriers compete for the rest of the market.

Commercial auto

Owned vehicles, the TxDMV filing on heavy trucks, and hired and non-owned auto.

Umbrella, professional liability, cyber and employment practices

Higher limits above your primary policies, plus the professional, data and employee-claim exposures a GL policy does not touch.

Business Insurance in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin

State law is the same in every Texas city. What changes is local contractor registration and what your lease asks for. What we have verified in each city's own published rules:

• Houston and Dallas. Both cities run their own permitting and trade registration, so confirm what the permit office wants on the certificate before you pull the permit. Commercial leases in both routinely require additional insured status for the landlord and a waiver of subrogation, so we read the lease before we quote.
• San Antonio. City and state licensed contractors must register with Development Services before permits are issued. Registered home improvement contractors need at least $300,000 per occurrence, $600,000 aggregate and $300,000 products and completed operations aggregate, with the City of San Antonio as certificate holder. Registered homebuilders need a $1,000,000 aggregate and a $500,000 products and completed operations aggregate.
• Austin. General contractors and trade contractors must register with Building and Trade Contractor Services before construction on a permit. Right-of-way permits for dumpsters, temporary right-of-way use and excavation require insurance, a $10,000 bond and a right-of-way contractor license.

Contractors should start with our Texas contractor insurance page.

Industries We Write in Texas

• Contractors and trades: Texas contractor insurance and Texas contractor bonds.
• Manufacturing and distribution: products liability, property, cargo and fleet.
• Commercial real estate: owners, landlords and property managers.
• Farm and ranch: farm liability, equipment and livestock.
• Professional and service businesses that need professional liability and cyber alongside GL.

How Much Does Business Insurance Cost in Texas?

Premiums are driven by your industry and class codes, revenue and payroll, vehicles, claims history, location, property values and the limits your contracts require. Online averages tell you little about your business. A complete application quoted with several carriers tells you what you will actually pay.

Before Your Next Renewal: A Texas Checklist

Most coverage gaps we find come from a business that changed while its policies did not. Run through these before your next renewal:

• Workers comp decision. If you are a non-subscriber, did you file the DWC-005 between February 1 and April 30, and does every new hire get the written notice? If you carry comp, does the policy list every state you work in?
• Vehicles. Did you add a truck over 26,000 pounds? It needs a TxDMV number and a $500,000 filing before it rolls.
• Licenses. If you hold a TDLR or plumbing license, is a current certificate on file with the board? A lapse can stop your license.
• Locations. A new shop, office or yard needs to be on the property and liability policies before you move in, not at renewal.
• Contracts. Pull the insurance section of your largest contracts and leases and compare the limits and endorsements to what you carry.
• Values. Building, equipment and inventory values set at startup are often far below today's replacement cost.

Send us the answers and your current policies. We will tell you where the gaps are before a claim finds them.

Admitted and Surplus Lines Coverage in Texas

Most Texas business insurance is written by admitted carriers. Risks the standard market will not write can go to the surplus lines market through a Texas-licensed surplus lines agent. Texas taxes those policies at 4.85 percent of taxable premium, and they are filed with the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas.

Why Texas Businesses Work With an Independent Agency

A captive agent can quote one company. An independent agency quotes many, so when one carrier raises your rate or exits your class, the account moves instead of lapsing. We came from the industries we insure, we read the contract before we quote, and we stay on the account after it binds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What insurance does a business need in Texas?

Texas law requires auto liability of at least 30/60/25 on every vehicle, and a TxDMV number with a $500,000 insurance filing for trucks over 26,000 pounds. Workers comp is elective for most private employers, but public employers and contractors on government construction contracts must have it. Leases, lenders, contracts and trade licenses usually add general liability, property and an umbrella.

Is business insurance required in Texas?

Some of it is. Auto liability is required by state law, and several state trade licenses require general liability. Most private employers can choose whether to carry workers comp, but those that do not have filing and notice duties. Most other coverage is required by leases, lenders and contracts rather than state law.

Is 30-60-25 full coverage in Texas?

No. 30/60/25 is the minimum liability Texas requires: $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage. It pays for damage you cause to others, not damage to your own vehicle, and most commercial contracts require much higher limits.

Can Grit insure my Houston business?

Yes. Grit is licensed in Texas and writes business insurance for Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and businesses across the state from our Salt Lake City headquarters. Call (801) 505-5500 or apply online.

How much does business insurance cost in Texas?

It depends on your industry, revenue, payroll, vehicles, location, claims history and the limits your contracts require. Two Texas businesses with the same revenue can pay very different premiums. An independent agent can quote several carriers at once.

Get a Texas Business Insurance Quote

Tell us what your business does, where in Texas it operates and what your lease and contracts require. We will build the program and quote it with the carriers that fit.

Call the Grit team at (801) 505-5500 or start online.

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