By clicking Get my free quote, I give Hutchings Enterprises Inc (33° North Insurance Group) and its licensed agents my prior express written consent, by electronic signature, to contact me with calls and text messages — including marketing calls and texts made using automated technology or an artificial or prerecorded voice — and by email, at the number and email I provided, about my insurance quote and related insurance products and services, even if my number is on a Do Not Call list. My information is never sold or shared with other agencies for their own marketing. Consent is not a condition of purchase; I can call (972) 987-0650 instead. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the arbitration clause and E-SIGN consent.
Maybe your renewal notice came in higher than last year. Maybe your teenager just passed the driving test, or you closed on a house in a fast-growing North Texas suburb and now there are two cars in the driveway and a third on the way. Or maybe you've carried the same Texas car insurance for years and never looked past the price.
Most people don't read their auto policy until after a fender bender on the Tollway or a spring hailstorm. This guide is the version you read before.
We'll start with what Texas law requires, including the two coverages that stay on your policy unless you turn them down in writing. Then we'll cover what happens if you drive uninsured, how liability, collision and comprehensive fit together, what Texas drivers pay on average, and how to compare car insurance quotes without quietly giving up the coverage that protects your family. We're an independent agency in Frisco, and comparing options from multiple insurance companies is the work we do every day.
What car insurance does Texas require?
The short answer: Texas requires liability coverage, at or above a legal minimum, on the vehicles you drive, and every Texas auto policy also carries PIP and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage unless you reject them in writing.
Texas law sets minimum liability limits for injuries to one person, injuries to two or more people in one crash, and property damage (Transportation Code §601.072, in effect since January 1, 2011). Those minimums are lower than most households need, which is why 33° North starts every auto quote at 50/100/50: $50,000 for injuries to one person, $100,000 for injuries in one crash, and $50,000 for property damage. In plain English, the first two numbers are for people and the last one is for things: the other car, a fence, a mailbox, a storefront.
That's liability coverage, and it works in one direction. The Texas Department of Insurance's auto insurance guide (updated December 11, 2025) puts it simply: liability coverage pays to repair the other driver's car if you caused the accident. It also pays the other people's injury claims, up to your limits. It doesn't fix your car, and it doesn't pay your own medical bills.
Texas uses a fault-based system. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code §33.001, you can't recover damages if your share of responsibility is greater than 50 percent. At 50% or less you can still recover, reduced by your share. That's what people mean when they call Texas an "at-fault" state. If you're found 30% responsible for a crash, for example, what you can recover from the other driver shrinks by 30%. The statute text is short and worth a read.
Proof of insurance. TDI's guide notes that Texas law requires drivers to show proof they can pay for the accidents they cause. For most people, that's an auto policy and the ID card that comes with it. Behind the scenes, TexasSure is the state's insurance verification program, run jointly by TDI, DPS, the Texas DMV and the Department of Information Resources. Police, county registration offices and justice and municipal courts use it to check whether a vehicle is insured (Texas DPS).
Do you need PIP and uninsured motorist coverage in Texas?
The short answer: Both come on every Texas auto policy by default, and the only way to remove them is to reject them in writing; for most families, they're worth keeping.
This is the part of Texas auto insurance that surprises people. Two coverages are built into every policy, and they come off only if you sign them away.
Personal injury protection (PIP)
Every Texas auto policy includes personal injury protection (PIP) unless you turn it down in writing (Insurance Code §1952.152). Insurers don't have to offer more than $2,500 per person (§1952.153), so $2,500 is the usual starting amount, and you can often buy more. You can read §1952.152 and §1952.153 in full.
What does PIP do? TDI says it pays your and your passengers' medical bills, and it also pays for things like lost wages and other nonmedical costs. It pays no matter who caused the crash, which matters in a state where the other driver's insurance only pays once fault is sorted out.
The rejection form is usually one signature in a stack of paperwork. Before you sign it, ask yourself what your health insurance would and wouldn't pay after a crash, what your deductible is, and how long your household could go without a paycheck. If the answers make you uneasy, PIP is doing real work, and a higher limit may be worth pricing.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM)
Insurers must include uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage unless you reject it in writing (Insurance Code §1952.101). If you rejected it before, it stays off at renewal until you ask for it back in writing.
TDI's guide says this coverage pays if you're hit by someone who didn't have insurance or didn't have enough to pay your medical and car repair bills. Think about who else is on the road. Any driver carrying only the state minimum has a small, fixed amount for your injuries, however serious they are. UM/UIM is the coverage that protects your family from someone else's thin policy, the same way your liability protects everyone else from yours.
One practical detail: TDI notes that you pay a deductible for collision, comprehensive and uninsured/underinsured motorist claims. Ask what yours is, and ask whether your UM/UIM limits match your liability limits. Many households set them at the same level so they're protected the way they protect others.
What happens if you drive without insurance in Texas?
The short answer: A fine of $175 to $350 for a first conviction and up to $1,000 after that, a license suspension on a second conviction unless you file and keep proof of insurance, and personal responsibility for any crash you cause.
The penalties are written into the Transportation Code. A first conviction carries a fine of $175 to $350. A later conviction carries $350 to $1,000 (Transportation Code §601.191). A second or later conviction leads to a license suspension unless you file proof of insurance and keep it on file for two years from that conviction (Transportation Code §601.231).
Those are the legal consequences. The financial one is bigger. Without insurance, the injuries and damage you cause in a crash are yours to pay personally, and a serious crash can run well past what most households could cover out of savings.
Because police, registration offices and courts can check coverage through TexasSure, a lapse doesn't stay hidden for long. If money is tight, call us before you let a policy go. There's often a way to adjust deductibles or coverages on an older car and keep you insured.
Liability, collision and comprehensive: what does each one pay for in Texas?
The short answer: Liability pays for damage you cause to others, collision repairs your own car after a crash, and comprehensive covers hail, theft, fire, flood and hitting an animal; only liability is required by Texas law, while PIP and UM/UIM come standard unless rejected.
You won't find "full coverage" defined in TDI's auto guide. When people say it, they usually mean liability plus collision and comprehensive. A policy that meets the legal minimum can still leave you paying for your own car. Here's how the main Texas auto insurance coverages line up, in TDI's words where it gives them:
| Coverage | What it pays for | Required in Texas? |
|---|---|---|
| Liability | Other people's injuries and property, including repairing the other driver's car, when you caused the accident. | RequiredAt least the state minimum. |
| Personal injury protection (PIP) | Your and your passengers' medical bills, plus things like lost wages and other nonmedical costs. | IncludedUnless you reject it in writing. |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist | Your medical and car repair bills when the driver who hit you had no insurance or not enough. | IncludedUnless you reject it in writing. |
| Collision | Repairing or replacing your car after an accident. | OptionalA lender will usually require it. |
| Comprehensive | Damage from fire, hail, theft, flood, flying gravel or hitting an animal. | OptionalA lender will usually require it. |
| Rental reimbursement | A rental car if yours is stolen or being repaired after an accident, up to a set amount each day. | OptionalCheck the daily limit. |
| Towing and labor | A tow if your car can't be driven, plus labor to change a flat or jump-start a battery. | OptionalInexpensive to add on many policies. |
TDI also notes that collision and comprehensive coverages don't have dollar limits the way liability does. They pay up to the value of your car, minus your deductible. That's why the decision to keep them comes down to what the car is worth and what you could pay yourself if it were damaged tomorrow.
If you still owe money on the car, your loan or lease will usually require collision and comprehensive. TDI points out that auto dealers and lenders usually offer guaranteed auto protection, or gap, insurance, which helps when a totaled car is worth less than the loan. It also warns that if you let coverage lapse, a lender can buy its own coverage for the car, which is expensive and protects only the lender. Our Texas auto insurance page covers the options we can quote for you.
How much liability coverage does a Texas household need?
The short answer: Enough to protect what you own and earn, which for most households means limits well above the Texas state minimum, because costs beyond your limits can come back to you personally.
One serious crash with a newer vehicle or more than one injured person can go past the minimum quickly. Here's how that can play out:
- With the Texas state minimum, the per-person injury limit is less than the driver's $45,000 and the property limit is less than the $35,000 SUV, so part of this $100,000 could come back to you.
- With 50/100/50, where we start every auto quote, the policy has room for the driver's $45,000 and the passenger's $20,000 ($65,000, under the $100,000 per-crash cap), plus the $35,000 SUV (under the $50,000 property limit). That's all $100,000 in this example.
- With 100/300/100 limits, the same crash fits with room to spare, which matters when more people are hurt, the vehicle costs more or the claim adds lost wages.
There's no single right number, but there are good questions to ask:
- What could a lawsuit reach? Home equity, savings and future wages all count. A family that just bought a home in Prosper or Celina has more to protect than it did as renters.
- Who drives your cars? A newly licensed teen, a long daily commute on the Tollway or US-380, or a college student home for the summer all change the odds.
- What do you carry for your own family? Your UM/UIM limits are usually set alongside your liability limits, so low liability often means low protection for your own family, too.
For households with real assets, an umbrella policy adds a layer of liability protection above your auto and home policies. We can price one alongside your auto quote and your home insurance.
When we review a Texas auto insurance policy, the liability line is the first thing we read, before the price. We usually price two or three limit levels side by side so you can see what each step up costs in dollars, and decide from there.
By clicking Get my free quote, I give Hutchings Enterprises Inc (33° North Insurance Group) and its licensed agents my prior express written consent, by electronic signature, to contact me with calls and text messages — including marketing calls and texts made using automated technology or an artificial or prerecorded voice — and by email, at the number and email I provided, about my insurance quote and related insurance products and services, even if my number is on a Do Not Call list. My information is never sold or shared with other agencies for their own marketing. Consent is not a condition of purchase; I can call (972) 987-0650 instead. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the arbitration clause and E-SIGN consent.
How much does car insurance cost in Texas?
The short answer: The NAIC puts Texas's 2024 average auto insurance expenditure at $1,578.45, against $1,431.63 countrywide; that's a statewide average, not a quote.
The most reliable statewide number comes from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. NAIC's 2024 Auto Insurance Database Average Premium Supplement (published September 2026) puts Texas's 2024 average expenditure at $1,578.45 (2023: $1,428.94), against $1,431.63 countrywide. NAIC cautions against comparing states. You can read the NAIC supplement yourself.
| Measure | Average expenditure | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Texas, 2024 | $1,578.45 | The latest statewide figure. |
| Texas, 2023 | $1,428.94 | The year before, for context. |
| Countrywide, 2024 | $1,431.63 | The national figure for the same year. |
Why do other websites show different Texas averages? Many of the "average cost" numbers you'll find online price one sample driver buying full coverage at a chosen set of limits. That's a different question from what Texans actually spent on average, so the numbers disagree. Neither one is your price.
What changes the price of car insurance in Texas?
The short answer: Your driving record, where you live, the car, who drives it and, with some companies, your credit, along with the limits and deductibles you choose.
Each insurance company sets its own rates and weighs these factors its own way. TDI's auto insurance guide names several of them plainly:
Tickets and accidents
TDI says insurance companies will charge you more if you've had accidents or gotten tickets.
Where you live
TDI notes that rates are higher if you live in a city. Where the car is kept overnight matters too.
Credit-based scoring
Some companies use your credit score to help set your price. TDI says an insurer may not turn you down or charge you more only because of your credit score.
Who's on the policy
TDI says to tell your company when someone in your family starts to drive or turns 16, and that adding a teen to your policy is usually cheaper.
The car itself
What a car costs to repair or replace shapes the collision and comprehensive part of your premium.
Limits and deductibles
Higher limits cost more; higher deductibles usually cost less. The right mix depends on what you could pay on a bad day.
Teen drivers change everything at once. If you're raising a future driver in Frisco or McKinney, plan for the conversation before the learner's permit. List every driver in the household, ask how a good student or driver-training discount might apply, and decide in advance which car the new driver will use most.
Discounts are real, but they vary by company. Many insurers offer discounts for insuring more than one car, bundling home and auto, good grades and safety or anti-theft features. Which ones you qualify for, and how much they're worth, depends on the company and your situation. Savings vary and aren't guaranteed. Ask which discounts you're actually getting today, because a missing discount is one of the most common things we find in a policy review.
- A company must give you 10 days' notice before it cancels your policy.
- If you bought or renewed your policy in 2024, it must give you 60 days' notice before it won't renew; for policies bought or renewed in 2023 or earlier, it was 30 days.
- Questions? TDI's help line is 800-252-3439.
How do you get and compare car insurance quotes in Texas?
The short answer: Start from your current declarations page, quote the same limits, deductibles and drivers everywhere, read the coverage before the price, then change one decision at a time so you can see what each one costs.
A quote is a set of coverage decisions with a price attached. Two Texas auto insurance quotes at different prices often aren't the same coverage. One may carry lower liability limits, a signed PIP rejection, no UM/UIM, a higher deductible or a missing driver.
That's where an independent agency helps. We compare options from multiple insurance companies at the same coverage, then walk you through the differences, in this order:
- Start with your current declarations page
It lists your drivers, cars, coverages, limits, deductibles and premium. Use it as the baseline, so every change from it is on purpose.
- Set liability limits to protect what you own
Start at 50/100/50, well above the state minimum, and ask what 100/300/100 or higher would cost. Think about the home equity, savings and income a lawsuit could reach.
- Decide on PIP and UM/UIM on purpose
Both stay on unless you reject them in writing, and a past UM/UIM rejection carries forward at renewal until you ask for it back in writing. Check what you signed before.
- Pick deductibles you could pay tomorrow
You pay a deductible on collision, comprehensive and UM/UIM claims. Choose amounts you could cover from savings after a fender bender or a hailstorm.
- List every driver and car accurately
Include the teen with a new license and the college student who drives home on breaks. A missing driver or car can cause problems at claim time.
- Give complete history up front
A quote can change once the company checks your driving record and other reports. Mentioning the ticket from two years ago now prevents a surprise later.
- Ask which discounts apply
Multi-car, bundling, good student and safety features can add up, depending on the company. Ask what each one is worth in dollars.
Timing matters too. A good moment to compare is a few weeks before renewal, or before a change like adding a teen driver, buying a car, moving or buying a home. Bundling your home insurance with your cars may lower what you pay; eligibility and discounts vary. And while a flooded car is a comprehensive claim on your auto policy, your house is a different story: most home policies don't cover flood damage, and most flood policies have a 30-day waiting period before they take effect (TDI). Our flood insurance page explains the options.
The bottom line
Texas car insurance starts with a legal floor for liability, but that floor only protects other people, and only up to those limits. The decisions that matter most sit above it: liability limits that fit what you own, PIP and UM/UIM kept on purpose, comprehensive for hail, theft and flood water, and deductibles you could actually pay.
The statewide average is useful context, but your price comes from your own drivers, cars, ZIP code and choices. The only way to see it is to compare quotes at the same coverage.
If you'd like a second set of eyes, send us your ZIP below or call Robert at (972) 987-0650, Monday through Friday from 9 to 5 Central. We'll read your declarations page with you, show what your limits would and wouldn't pay, and compare options from multiple insurance companies. Savings vary and aren't guaranteed, but you'll know exactly what you're buying. You can also start on our auto insurance page or go straight to a free auto quote.
By clicking Get my free quote, I give Hutchings Enterprises Inc (33° North Insurance Group) and its licensed agents my prior express written consent, by electronic signature, to contact me with calls and text messages — including marketing calls and texts made using automated technology or an artificial or prerecorded voice — and by email, at the number and email I provided, about my insurance quote and related insurance products and services, even if my number is on a Do Not Call list. My information is never sold or shared with other agencies for their own marketing. Consent is not a condition of purchase; I can call (972) 987-0650 instead. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the arbitration clause and E-SIGN consent.
Texas car insurance FAQ
Is Texas a no-fault state?
No. Texas uses a fault-based system for car accidents. The driver who causes a crash is responsible for the other people's injuries and property damage, usually through their liability insurance. Fault can be shared. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code §33.001, you can't recover damages if your share of responsibility is greater than 50 percent. At 50% or less you can still recover, reduced by your share. Texas still puts personal injury protection (PIP) on every auto policy unless you reject it in writing, so your own policy can help with your medical bills after a crash no matter who caused it.
What is the minimum car insurance required in Texas?
Texas law sets a minimum amount of liability coverage for injuries to one person, injuries to two or more people in one crash, and property damage (Transportation Code §601.072, in effect since January 1, 2011). That minimum is lower than most households need, so 33° North starts every auto quote at 50/100/50: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per crash for injuries, plus $50,000 for property damage. That's liability coverage, and it pays other people when you cause a crash. It doesn't repair your own car. Your policy will also include PIP and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage unless you reject them in writing. Many households carry limits well above the minimum, because costs beyond your limits can come back to you personally.
Do I have to carry PIP in Texas?
PIP comes on your policy unless you say no in writing. Every Texas auto policy includes personal injury protection (PIP) unless you turn it down in writing (Insurance Code §1952.152). Insurers don't have to offer more than $2,500 per person (§1952.153), so $2,500 is the usual starting amount, and you can often buy more. The Texas Department of Insurance says PIP pays your and your passengers' medical bills, and also things like lost wages and other nonmedical costs. Before you sign a rejection form, ask what your health insurance would and wouldn't pay after a crash.
Is uninsured motorist coverage required in Texas?
Texas doesn't require you to keep it, but it comes on your policy unless you reject it. Insurers must include uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage unless you reject it in writing (Insurance Code §1952.101). If you rejected it before, it stays off at renewal until you ask for it back in writing. The Texas Department of Insurance says this coverage pays if you're hit by someone who didn't have insurance or didn't have enough to pay your medical and car repair bills. A deductible applies to uninsured/underinsured motorist claims, so ask what yours is.
What happens if you get caught driving without insurance in Texas?
You face a fine, and repeat convictions can cost you your license. A first conviction carries a fine of $175 to $350. A later conviction carries $350 to $1,000 (Transportation Code §601.191). A second or later conviction leads to a license suspension unless you file proof of insurance and keep it on file for two years from that conviction (Transportation Code §601.231). The bigger risk is the crash itself. Without insurance, the injuries and damage you cause are yours to pay personally, and police and courts can check your coverage through TexasSure.
How much is car insurance in Texas?
NAIC's 2024 Auto Insurance Database Average Premium Supplement (published September 2026) puts Texas's 2024 average expenditure at $1,578.45 (2023: $1,428.94), against $1,431.63 countrywide. NAIC cautions against comparing states. That figure is a statewide average across insured vehicles and coverage choices, not a quote. Your own price depends on your driving record, where you live and keep the car, the car itself, who drives it, your credit with some companies, and the limits and deductibles you choose. The way to find your number is to compare quotes at the same coverage.
Last reviewed by Robert Hutchings on .
