Car insurance in Texas

The minimum: 30/60/25

Texas law requires at least $30,000 for injuries per person, up to $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. The Texas Department of Insurance calls this 30/60/25 coverage. It pays for damage you cause to other people, not for your own car or injuries.

A serious crash can easily exceed these limits, and you can be held responsible for the difference. Many drivers choose higher limits, especially if they own a home or have savings to protect.

PIP: included unless you reject it in writing

All Texas auto policies include personal injury protection (PIP), which helps pay medical bills and lost wages for you and your passengers regardless of who caused the crash. If you don't want it, you must tell the company in writing.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

Insurance companies must offer uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, which protects you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough. As with PIP, you must reject it in writing if you don't want it. Before rejecting either, it's worth understanding what you'd be giving up.

Hail and flood: comprehensive coverage

Hail and flood damage to your car is covered by comprehensive coverage, not liability. Texas regularly sees both; our county pages show how often federal disasters have been declared where you live. If your car is financed or leased, your lender will almost certainly require comprehensive and collision.

Shopping for Texas car insurance

• Compare the same limits and deductibles across quotes.
• Ask how each company prices your ZIP code, driving record and credit, where allowed.
• Check discounts for bundling with home or renters insurance.
• Review your coverage when you move within Texas; rates can change by county. Our Bell County insurance guide and Potter County (Amarillo) insurance guide show how local roads and weather differ.

Choosing limits above the minimum

TDI notes a 30/60/25 policy pays at most $25,000 for the other driver's car repairs, and that minimum limits can fall short in a multi-vehicle crash or if the other car is totaled. Whatever your policy doesn't cover, you may have to pay yourself.

In Texas your uninsured/underinsured motorist limits can't exceed your liability limits (Insurance Code Section 1952.105), so the liability limit you pick also caps how much UM/UIM you can buy. A practical approach is to choose liability based on what you'd need to protect, such as savings or home equity, and then set UM/UIM to match.

How PIP works in Texas

Texas PIP pays reasonable medical, funeral, and lost-income costs, plus household services for someone who wasn't earning income, for expenses incurred within three years of a crash. It covers you, household members, and passengers in your car, and it pays regardless of who was at fault (Sections 1952.151 and 1952.155).

Insurers aren't required to provide more than $2,500 per person (Section 1952.153), though some may offer more. Your insurer must pay within 30 days of getting satisfactory proof, and if it doesn't, you can recover the benefits plus a 12% penalty, interest, and attorney's fees (Sections 1952.156 and 1952.157).

If you rejected PIP before, the insurer doesn't have to add it back at renewal unless you ask in writing. Check your declarations page.

UM/UIM details that matter in Texas

• Property damage under UM/UIM has a $250 deductible by statute.
• For a hit-and-run, Texas policies require actual physical contact between the unknown vehicle and you or your property. TDI also says the crash must be reported to police.
• Underinsured coverage pays your damages up to your limit, minus what the at-fault driver's insurer pays or owes.
• If there's a dispute over whether the other vehicle was uninsured, the insurer has the burden of proof.
• TDI says UM/UIM can also cover diminished value and pain and suffering.

Credit and your Texas auto rate

Texas lets insurers use credit scoring under Insurance Code Chapter 559, with limits. An insurer must tell you at application if it uses your credit, can't deny, cancel, or nonrenew based on credit alone, and can't count insurance-related inquiries or medical collection accounts against you. If credit leads to a worse outcome, it must send you a notice within 30 days giving up to four main reasons.

Under a 2025 law (SB 1644), for policies issued or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2026, insurers that use credit must update your credit report at least every 36 months and re-rate you on the result. At renewal, you or your agent can ask for a re-rate on a current credit report once every 12 months (Section 559.058). You can also ask for an exception if your credit was hurt by a catastrophic illness or injury, the death of a spouse, child, or parent, temporary job loss, divorce, or identity theft (Section 559.103).

Cancellation and nonrenewal rules

In the first 60 days, an insurer may cancel a personal auto policy for any reason that doesn't violate the law. After that, it can cancel mid-term only for nonpayment, a fraudulent claim, or a suspended or revoked license or registration for you or a household driver, or on a 12-month anniversary of the policy with at least 60 days' written notice. It can't cancel for a suspension if you agree to an endorsement that removes that driver. A cancellation for nonpayment, a fraudulent claim, or a suspension takes effect no sooner than the 10th day after the insurer mails notice (Insurance Code Section 551.104).

To nonrenew, an insurer must mail notice at least 60 days before the policy expires (Section 551.105), and a policy written for less than a year can be nonrenewed only on its 12-month anniversary. An insurer can't nonrenew because of age. It must nonrenew, after a written warning, if you don't cooperate with its investigation of a liability claim against you (Section 551.1053).

Under HB 2067, for applications made and policies issued or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2026, an insurer that declines, cancels, or nonrenews must give you a written statement explaining the specific reasons and the source of its information (Sections 551.002 and 551.109). If you're canceled for nonpayment, the insurer may reinstate you if you pay within 60 days, but you're uninsured from the cancellation date until it gets the payment (Section 551.106).

If you have a problem with an insurer

Start with the company and ask for its reasons in writing. If that doesn't work, you can file a written complaint with TDI through its online complaint portal or get help at 800-252-3439. TDI says its ability to help may be limited: it can't decide who was at fault or set damage amounts.