Lindsay is a freelance personal finance writer currently pursuing her Series 65 license. She enjoys helping readers learn money management skills that improve their lives.
Evelyn PimplaskarEditor-in-Chief, Director of Content
10+ years in insurance and personal finance content
30+ years in media, PR, and content creation
Evelyn leads Insurify’s content team. She’s passionate about creating empowering content to help people transform their financial lives and make sound insurance-buying decisions.
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If you’re responsible for an accident, your liability car insurance will pay for damages and injuries you cause to other drivers and their passengers. Texas is one of 49 U.S. states that require drivers to have at least a minimum amount of liability coverage to drive legally.
Most insurers offer a range of other coverage options besides basic liability insurance. If you finance or lease your vehicle, your lender or leasing company will probably require you to buy collision and comprehensive coverage as well.
Here’s what to know about liability car insurance in Texas and how to find the best coverage for your needs.
Quick Facts
State Farm, GEICO, and Allstate are the three cheapest insurance companies for liability-only coverage in Texas.
Texas requires all insurers to offer personal injury protection (PIP) and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, which you can decline if you choose.
Texas has the second-highest rate of auto theft in the nation, and drivers face extra hazards such as hurricanes, making full-coverage policies extra important.[1]
What does liability car insurance cover in Texas?
The state of Texas requires all car owners to buy two types of liability coverage to help pay for damage they might cause in a car accident: bodily injury liability and property damage liability.
Bodily injury liability coverage pays the medical bills if you injure someone. Property damage liability coverage pays to fix the damage you cause to other people’s property, like their cars, homes, or the contents of their vehicle.
Your policy will pay these expenses up to the limits you selected when you bought it. You’ll generally be responsible for paying out of pocket for any damages over your policy limit amount.[2]
For example, if you’ve purchased an auto insurance policy with Texas minimum liability limits, it’ll reimburse any one person for up to $30,000 in medical costs. If you caused bodily harm to multiple people, your insurer will pay up to $60,000 for everyone’s costs combined. Similarly, if you damage anyone’s personal property, your insurance coverage will only pay out up to $25,000.
That can make for a big bill if you wreck someone’s brand-new luxury car or rear-end a bus carrying a high school sports team, for example. That’s why many experts recommend choosing higher coverage limits if you can afford it.
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Cheapest liability car insurance rates in Texas
The following table shows monthly liability-only rates from the cheapest car insurers in Texas. Keep in mind there’s a good chance that your costs will be different.
Companies take many insurance-rating factors into account when setting your insurance premiums, such as your ZIP code, credit history, age, gender, car make and model, driving record, and more — and that’s even before factoring anything like discounts into the mix.[3]
The below rates are estimated rates current as of: Friday, November 1 at 12:00 PM PDT.
Insurance Company
▲▼
Average Monthly Quote
▲▼
State Farm
$37
GEICO
$40
Allstate
$53
Mile Auto
$57
USAA
$66
Nationwide
$84
Mercury
$87
Progressive
$101
Safeco
$102
Dairyland
$109
Chubb
$113
National General
$124
Clearcover
$125
21st Century
$130
Direct Auto
$131
The General
$131
Bristol West
$136
Commonwealth Casualty
$137
Elephant
$146
GAINSCO
$167
Liberty Mutual
$200
Foremost
$224
State Auto
$250
Hugo
$292
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.
How much liability coverage does Texas require?
The Texas Department of Insurance requires all drivers to buy at least:[4]
Property damage liability: $25,000 per accident
Bodily injury liability: $30,000 per person, up to $60,000 per accident
Texas also requires all insurance companies to include two other types of coverage in all new policies, and if you don’t want them, you’ll need to decline them in writing:
Personal injury protection: This covers medical treatment, funeral expenses, and lost wages if you or any passengers in your car suffer bodily injury in an accident you cause.
Underinsured/uninsured motorist protection: This covers your property damage and injuries if an uninsured driver — or one without enough coverage to fully reimburse you — causes an accident.
All other coverage options are up to you (and your lender if you’re financing a vehicle).
How to find cheap liability car insurance in Texas
Sticker shock is real when it comes to insurance, but the good news is you have many ways to lower your auto insurance rates. Getting a quote from several car insurance companies is the best way to find affordable car insurance, but here are several other tips to try:
Drive safely. Practicing good driving habits will help you score the lowest rates possible, earn safe driver discounts, lower your risk of permanent disability, and avoid having tofile claims.
Use telematics. Allowing your insurer to track your driving through atelematics mobile app or devicecan help you qualify for big discounts. But if you display risky driving behaviors, some insurers may increase your rates.
Improve your credit. Like most states, Texas allows insurance companies to use your credit history to generate credit-based insurance scores that predict your likelihood of filing a claim. Generally, people with good or excellent credit get lower rates than people with poor credit.
Set reminders to compare rates. It’s easy to forget to check your rates every six to 12 months when your policy is up for renewal. But that’s an easy time to switch to a new insurer that offers lower rates.
Opt for mileage-based coverage. A mileage-based policy will charge a low base rate and a low rate for each mile you drive in a month. If you’re able to drive less, it could offer a lot of savings.
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Other car insurance coverages to consider in Texas
Although they may not be a legal requirement in the Lone Star State, additional coverage can provide you with greater financial protection than minimum coverage. For example, you may have to buy full-coverage car insurance to protect your motor vehicle from damage under your financial institution’s terms and conditions if you took out a car loan or lease. A full-coverage policy adds collision and comprehensive coverage onto a state-minimum liability policy.
Collision coverage
Collision insurance pays to repair or replace your car if you cause an accident. This includes colliding with another vehicle or hitting a stationary object, like a tree or light pole. It also covers rollover accidents and damage from hitting a pothole.
Comprehensive coverage
Comprehensive insurancepays for damage to your vehicle from non-collision threats, like hurricanes and other severe weather, theft, vandalism, or fire.
Accident forgiveness coverage
A single at-fault accident can increase your car insurance rates by 26% at policy renewal, according to Insurify data. But if you buy accident forgiveness when you initiate a policy, your rates won’t rise after your first at-fault accident.
Gap coverage
Because vehicles depreciate quickly, especially when they’re new, if you total your car, you may owe more on the lease or auto loan than the actual cash value of the vehicle — which is what your insurer will pay for a claim. Gap insurance covers the difference between your vehicle’s ACV and your loan or lease balance.
Roadside assistance coverage
Roadside assistance coverage can pay some of or all the cost of towing services, locked vehicles, flat tires, and more.
Even if you have no obligation to buy extra coverages, it’s still worth considering them for greater financial protection.
For example, Texas has one of the highest rates of auto theft in the country. If you only have liability coverage and someone steals your vehicle, your insurance policy won’t reimburse you for the cost of your stolen car. But if you have comprehensive coverage, your insurer will pay you the ACV of the vehicle.[5]
Liability car insurance in Texas FAQs
Understanding what a liability-only insurance policy in Texas will cover — and what it won’t — can help you decide just what type of coverage to buy. To get you started, here’s some additional information about liability car insurance in Texas.
How much does liability insurance cost in Texas?
Liability car insurance in Texas costs $120 per month on average, according to Insurify data. By comparison, the national average is $104 per month. State Farm is the cheapest insurer for Texas liability coverage, with monthly rates starting at $37.
Do you need liability insurance in Texas?
Yes. Texas state law requires that all drivers buy a liability insurance policy to pay for any damages or injuries they cause in an accident. The policy requirement includes bodily injury and property damage coverage with limits of at least $30,000 per injured person ($60,000 total per accident) and $25,000 for property damage.
Is Texas a no-fault state?
No. Texas isn’t a no-fault state. It’s considered a “tort liability” state, meaning that the insurance of the at-fault driver pays for damages and injuries to the other party in the crash. Texas drivers are free to sue for damages they sustain in a car accident if an insurance payout isn’t enough to cover their losses.
Methodology
Insurify data scientists analyzed more than 90 million quotes served to car insurance applicants in Insurify’s proprietary database to calculate the premium averages displayed on this page. These premiums are real quotes that come directly from Insurify’s 50+ partner insurance companies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quote averages represent the median price for a quote across the given coverage level, driver subset, and geographic area.
Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for drivers between 20 and 70 years old with a clean driving record and average or better credit (a credit score of 600 or higher).
Liability-only premium averages correspond to policies with the following coverage limits:
Bodily injury limits between state-minimum rates and $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
Property damage limits between $10,000 and $50,000
No additional coverage
Full-coverage premium averages correspond to the same bodily injury and property damage limits in addition to:
Comprehensive coverage with a $1,000 deductible
Collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible
Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.
Triple-I. "What is covered by a basic auto insurance policy?."
Lindsay VanSomeren
Lindsay VanSomeren is a freelance personal finance writer living in Suquamish, WA. Her work has appeared with FICO, Credit Karma, The Balance, and more. She enjoys helping people learn how to manage their money better so they can live the life they want.
Evelyn PimplaskarEditor-in-Chief, Director of Content
10+ years in insurance and personal finance content
30+ years in media, PR, and content creation
Evelyn leads Insurify’s content team. She’s passionate about creating empowering content to help people transform their financial lives and make sound insurance-buying decisions.
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