An independent insurance broker licensed in Texas can do this for you, usually at no charge. The broker reads the insurance section, compares it line by line to your policies, and fixes what is missing. That usually means raising a limit, adding an umbrella, or adding an endorsement, which is a change to your policy, usually one extra page. Who this is for: Texas contractors and trades who just received a subcontract, a purchase order, or a city or school district contract and are not sure their insurance matches it.
The short version
- A Texas licensed independent broker is the person to call. The review is free at most brokerages, including Morrow.
- Send the whole insurance section, not just the limits. The extra wording is where most Texas certificates fail.
- Two Texas rules matter: workers comp is optional for private employers, and a 2012 law limits how much of your customer's own fault you can be made to insure.
- Fixes take one day to two weeks, so send the contract before you sign, not the week you start.
Who actually does this work in Texas?
Four kinds of people touch the insurance section of a Texas construction contract. Only one works for you and can also fix what is wrong.
| Who | What they can do | What they cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Independent insurance broker | Read the contract, compare it to your policies, add endorsements, raise limits, shop for an umbrella, and talk to your customer's compliance desk | Change the contract itself |
| Your customer's compliance desk | Tell you what they reject and why | Advise you or find you coverage |
| A construction attorney | Negotiate the indemnity clause (a promise to cover someone else's losses) | Place insurance, and the hourly bill adds up |
| A direct insurer or online seller | Sell you its own policy | Compare other companies or read your contract |
A broker is paid by the insurance company when a policy is placed, so the review itself is normally free. Send the whole insurance section and the indemnity clause with it: in Texas the two are tied together by law, so a broker reading one without the other is guessing. See also who can help me understand the insurance requirements in my contract.
Do I actually have to carry workers comp in Texas?
No. Workers comp is elective in Texas: private employers, including contractors, choose whether to buy it, and there is no employee-count threshold. Here is what follows. A general contractor can still make coverage a condition of your subcontract, and most do. An employer that goes without is a non-subscriber: it files DWC Form-005 with the state, posts the state's notice for employees, and gives up the legal defenses an employer normally has. If an employee sues, you cannot argue that the worker was careless, that he knew the job was risky, or that a coworker caused it. And on a building or construction contract for the state, a city, a county, a school district, or any other political subdivision, every contractor and sub has to certify in writing that every employee on that project is covered (Labor Code Section 406.096). Start with do I need workers comp in Texas.
Can a Texas contract make me pay for my customer's mistakes?
Mostly no. Since January 1, 2012, Texas Insurance Code Chapter 151 voids any construction contract clause requiring a subcontractor to indemnify, or name as additional insured, a general contractor or owner for that party's own negligence. Additional insured means your customer can use your liability policy if they get sued because of your work. The protection has exceptions:
- Claims for injury or death of your own employees.
- Single-family, townhouse, and duplex residential work.
- Municipal public works.
- Wrap-up programs, one insurance program the owner or general contractor buys for everyone on the project.
What does a Texas contract usually ask for?
| Requirement | What it means for you | Common fix if you fall short |
|---|---|---|
| General liability $1,000,000 per incident and $2,000,000 per year | The most it pays for one incident, and for the year | Raise the limit or add an umbrella |
| Additional insured, ongoing and completed work | Your customer is added for your work. Blanket wording usually covers only the party you signed with, and only for ongoing work. Cover after the job, and cover for an owner or lender you did not contract with, are separate grants your broker must confirm in writing | Often no charge for the blanket ongoing-operations wording, otherwise roughly $50 to $300 each, illustrative |
| Primary and noncontributory | Your policy pays first and your customer's policy does not chip in | Usually a separate endorsement on the general liability policy. Some insurers build it into their additional insured form, but do not assume yours does |
| Waiver of subrogation | Your insurer agrees not to go after your customer to recover money it paid | One endorsement on general liability, a separate one on workers comp |
| Auto liability $1,000,000 | Far above the Texas minimum of $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage | Raise the auto limit or add an umbrella |
| Workers comp with employers liability | Required on public projects, and by most general contractors | Buy a policy if you are a non-subscriber |
How long do the fixes take, and what do they cost?
Timings assume your broker already has your policies and the contract.
- Endorsements: one to three business days.
- An umbrella: one day to two weeks.
- A new workers comp policy: usually inside a week. Texas Mutual, the state-created carrier, must insure an employer that tenders the premium and any accident prevention service fee it charges, though a hard account is written at a higher price. So a non-subscriber who needs a policy for a job can usually get one.
For the bid side of the same question, see who can review my bid's insurance requirements for free in Texas.
What this looks like in real life
Illustrative example. It is typical of what we see and is not a promise of how any specific situation would be handled.
The setup: A concrete subcontractor in San Antonio signs a $410,000 subcontract on a school district gym. The insurance exhibit asks for $1,000,000 per incident general liability, a $2,000,000 umbrella, additional insured wording during and after the job, and written proof that every worker on the project has workers comp.
What went wrong: The sub has been a non-subscriber for six years and carries no umbrella. The general contractor will not let the crew on site without the workers comp certificate, because the school district must collect it under state law.
What it cost: A workers comp policy for the sub's crew came to about $14,000 a year, illustrative, and the umbrella about $1,900. The bigger cost was nine idle working days while the policies were placed, roughly $12,000 in wages for no work.
The fix: Send the insurance exhibit to a broker before you sign. Every fix here was available in advance, and the workers comp requirement was on page one of the exhibit.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who can help me meet a construction contract's insurance requirements in Texas?
An independent insurance broker licensed in Texas. The broker reads the insurance section, compares it to your policies, and adds or places whatever is missing. Most brokers, including Morrow, do the review for free.
Q: Is the contract review really free?
Usually yes. Brokers are paid by the insurance company when a policy is placed, so reading a contract is how they find out what to place. No fee, no purchase required.
Q: Does Texas require workers comp for my contract?
No. Texas does not require private employers to carry workers comp, so the requirement in your contract comes from your customer. The exception is a building or construction contract with a city, county, school district, or state agency, where every contractor and sub has to certify coverage.
Q: Can a Texas general contractor make me insure their own mistakes?
Not in most commercial work. Since 2012 a Texas law voids clauses that make a sub cover the general contractor's or owner's own negligence, apart from the exceptions listed above. A broker who knows this can push back on out-of-state template wording.
Q: What if my insurer will not add what the contract wants?
A broker can move one policy, add an umbrella from a different company, or shop the whole account. If the request is unreasonable, the broker can explain to your customer why and ask them to adjust it.
Q: What if the job starts before my policy is updated?
You are not covered for the gap. Insurers rarely backdate, so an endorsement issued on Tuesday does not apply to an injury on Monday, and a general contractor's written permission to start work does not create coverage either. Get the effective date in writing before the crew arrives.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Reading the insurance section of a Texas contract and matching it to a policy is the most common thing our Texas contractor clients ask us to do.
- Free contract review. Send us the contract or bid documents and we mark up the insurance section in plain English, whether or not you buy anything from us.
- Free, instant certificates. Clients issue their own certificates of insurance online in about a minute, any hour, any day, at no charge.
- Markets you cannot reach online. One application, shopped across many insurance companies for general liability, workers comp, auto, umbrella, and pollution coverage.
One more thing. This article is general information and is not legal advice or a statement of coverage. Your contract and your policy wording control in every case. Requirements vary by customer, by state, and by insurance company, so have a licensed advisor review your own contract and your own policy before relying on any of it.
Last updated: Reviewed by the Morrow commercial lines team. Last updated September 2026.