Business insurance in Texas: state rules, 2026 costs, quotes

What Texas requires of small businesses - workers' comp thresholds, state filings - plus 2026 national cost medians and online quotes, town by town.

$45-$83/monational medians, general liability to BOP bundle, 2026

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Small businesses in Texas benchmark against national medians of $45 a month for general liability and $83 for a business owner's policy.

Professional liability runs $88 a month at the national median, and Texas service businesses are priced on revenue and specialty.

Texas does not require most private employers to carry workers' compensation - coverage is elective. An employer may choose to obtain it but is generally not required to (government contractors are a notable exception). Miss the threshold and the penalties in most states are per-employee, per-day - far more than the premium. The median small firm pays about $54 a month, and quoting takes the same ten minutes as GL.

Texas workers' comp rules

Requirement	Texas rule
Employee threshold	Texas does not require most private employers to carry workers' compensation - coverage is elective. An employer may choose to obtain it but is generally not required to (government contractors are a notable exception).
Construction businesses	A governmental entity entering a building or construction contract must require the contractor to certify in writing that it provides workers' comp coverage for each employee on the public project.
Where to verify	Texas Department of Insurance

An employer that declines coverage (a 'non-subscriber') must notify the Division of Workers' Compensation in writing and loses exclusive-remedy protection against employee lawsuits.

This guide is research, not advice: an independent summary of published data. It is not an insurance company, agency or broker, and it cannot tell you what your business should buy - a licensed agent in Texas can.

What business insurance costs in 2026

Coverage	Median monthly	What it covers
General liability	$45	Injuries to others and damage to their property
Business owner's policy (BOP)	$83	GL plus your own property and lost income
Professional liability (E&O)	$88	Claims that your work or advice caused a loss
Workers' compensation	$54	Employee injury care and lost wages
Commercial umbrella	$86	Extra limits above your other liability policies
Commercial property	$108	Standalone cover for gear, inventory, premises
Cyber insurance	$129	Data breach response and liability

The median U.S. small business pays $45/month for general liability and $83/month for a business owner's policy.Source: Insureon policy medians (100,000+ customers), updated February 2026

Compare business insurance quotes for Texas

These carriers quote small businesses online in about ten minutes. Prices come from the carrier, not from this site.

NEXT InsuranceBuilt for contractors and trades - AM Best A- (Excellent)Check your rate with NEXT

HiscoxProfessional liability specialist - AM Best A (Excellent)Get a Hiscox quote

Simply BusinessLicensed broker - compares several rated carriers at onceCompare with Simply Business

Disclosure: this is an independent guide. If you start a quote through a link here, the carrier may pay this site a referral fee. That fee never changes the price you are quoted.

Why only these carriers

Price is easy to compare; claims behavior is not. A policy that saves Texas businesses a few dollars a month and then fights every claim is the most expensive insurance you can buy. Every carrier listed here clears two public bars - an AM Best rating of A- (Excellent) or better, and a below-median complaint index with state insurance regulators - and any carrier that falls below the bar gets removed.

Price is easy to compare; claims behavior is not. The most expensive insurance is the policy that does not pay. Before any carrier appears in this guide it must clear two public bars: an AM Best financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) or better, and a complaint record at or below the national median in NAIC state filings. A carrier that falls below the bar gets removed from every page on this site.

Carrier	Claims-strength rating	Background
NEXT Insurance	AM Best A- (Excellent)	Small-business specialist, backed by Munich Re (ERGO)
Hiscox	AM Best A (Excellent)	Underwriting small business risk for over 100 years
Simply Business	Licensed broker	Places policies only with licensed, rated carriers

AM Best financial strength ratings grade an insurer's ability to pay claims; NAIC complaint indexes track policyholder complaints against the national average.Source: AM Best Rating Services

How quotes work in Texas

Online carriers price small businesses directly: you enter trade, payroll, revenue and location, and a bindable price comes back in about ten minutes. No agent visit, and coverage can start the same day. The comparison panel on this page links carriers that quote TX businesses online - prices come from the carrier, never from this site.

What the business does - carriers price by trade class code
Payroll, if you have employees - drives workers' comp
Annual revenue - drives liability pricing
Business address and years operating in Texas
Claims history, if any - three clean years helps pricing

Common questions

Does an LLC need insurance too?

Yes - the LLC protects your personal assets from business liabilities, but the business's own assets stay exposed. Insurance pays claims; the LLC just keeps them away from your house. Most owners carry both.

Can I be paying for the wrong class code?

Yes, and it is common: class codes are assigned from your business description, and a vague description lands in a pricier class. Reviewing the code on your declarations page against what you actually do is a five-minute check that owners skip.

What is a certificate of insurance?

A one-page proof-of-coverage document carriers issue on request, listing your policy types, limits and dates. Landlords, GCs and clients in Texas ask for it before signing - carriers email it same-day, usually free.

Is the cheapest business insurance good enough?

Only if the carrier actually pays claims. Before comparing price, check two public numbers: the insurer's AM Best financial strength rating (A- or better) and its complaint index with state regulators (1.0 is average - lower is better). The difference between a good payer and a bad one is usually a few dollars a month; the difference at claim time is everything.

How fast can coverage start?

Online carriers commonly bind coverage the same day. If a landlord or client is waiting on a certificate of insurance, the COI typically arrives by email within an hour of purchase.

How much is general liability insurance for a small business?

The 2026 national median is $45 per month, or about $538 per year, based on published policy data from over 100,000 small businesses. Low-risk desk businesses often pay less; trades with site work pay more.