Remodeling Contractor Insurance in Texas

Short answer: general liability at $1,000,000 is the foundation, but for a Texas remodeler the two settings that actually matter are whether residential work is excluded and whether your subcontractors carry their own coverage. Get either one wrong and the policy you are paying for will not respond when you need it.

Remodeling sits in the hardest corner of contractor insurance. You work inside people's homes, you touch structural, electrical, and plumbing systems, you rely on subcontractors, and your clients are homeowners who will sue over defects years after the job closes. Carriers know this, which is why remodeling policies contain exclusions that a landscaper's policy does not.

This guide covers what remodeling contractor insurance in Texas actually needs to include, what to verify before you bind, and how to satisfy the certificate requirements that gate the good work. Start with a contractor general liability quote if you already know what limits you need.

General liability: the foundation

General liability responds when your work causes bodily injury or property damage to someone else, and it pays your defense costs.

For a remodeler, the realistic claim scenarios:

• A homeowner or visitor is injured at the job site.
• You damage finished areas of the home outside your work scope.
• A water line is nicked and the resulting leak damages flooring and drywall throughout the house.
• Dust, debris, or overspray damages the client's furnishings.
• A completed job causes damage months later.
• Damage to a neighboring property during demolition or exterior work.

Standard limits are $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. Remember the aggregate is the ceiling for the entire policy period, so three claims in one year draw from the same pool.

The exclusions that matter to remodelers

Residential or habitational exclusion. This is the one to check first. Many general liability forms restrict or exclude residential construction work because homeowner defect claims are expensive and slow to develop. A remodeler holding a policy with a residential exclusion is functionally uninsured for their core business. Get written confirmation that residential remodeling is covered, and do not accept a verbal assurance.

The your-work exclusion. General liability is not a warranty. Damage to the work you performed is generally excluded, so if you install a deck badly, replacing the deck is your cost. What is typically covered is resulting damage to other property. The subcontractor exception is important here: damage arising out of work performed on your behalf by a subcontractor may fall back into coverage in many forms, which is one reason carriers care so much about whether your subs are insured.

Earth movement and subsidence. Relevant if you do foundation work or excavation.

Pollution. Broader than people expect. Lead paint, asbestos disturbance, mold, and certain chemical exposures fall here. Pre-1978 housing stock makes lead and asbestos a real remodeling exposure, and contractors pollution liability is a separate purchase.

Mold and fungus. Frequently excluded or heavily sublimited, which matters because water intrusion during remodeling is a common trigger.

Professional liability. If you provide design services or design-build, general liability does not cover a design error. That is professional liability.

Work above a stated height, or specific operations your carrier declined to write.

Tools, equipment, and materials

This is the second most common gap. General liability covers damage you cause to others. It does not cover your own property.

Contractors tools and equipment, sometimes written as inland marine, covers your tools and equipment at the job site, in transit, and in the truck. Key questions:

• Is coverage scheduled, meaning specific items listed, or blanket up to a limit?
• What is the per-item sublimit? A blanket $15,000 limit with a $2,000 per-item cap does not cover a $6,000 laser level.
• Is theft from an unattended vehicle covered, and under what conditions? Many policies require a locked, enclosed vehicle and some require forced entry.
• Are borrowed, rented, or leased tools covered? Rental companies frequently require this.
• Are employee-owned tools covered?

Installation floater covers materials you have purchased and are installing but which are not yet the owner's property. Cabinets sitting in a garage waiting for install are a classic uncovered loss without it.

Builders risk covers the structure under construction. On a large remodel or an addition, the homeowner's policy may restrict coverage during construction, and builders risk fills that gap. On substantial projects, confirm in writing who is carrying it.

Commercial auto

Work trucks used to haul tools and materials to job sites belong on a commercial auto policy, not a personal one. Once the truck carries a ladder rack, a toolbox, and materials, a personal policy's business use exclusion is a live issue.

Requirements to expect from general contractors: $1,000,000 combined single limit, symbol 1 or any auto coverage, additional insured status, and often a waiver of subrogation.

Remember that the tools inside the truck are covered by the tools policy, not the auto policy. See commercial auto versus personal auto for where the line falls.

Workers compensation and subcontractors

Texas does not require most private employers to carry workers compensation, but for remodelers the decision is usually made by their clients rather than by the state.

If you have employees. Most general contractors and many commercial clients will not let you on site without a workers compensation certificate. Going without it also means losing key legal defenses if an employee is injured and sues. See the Texas workers comp guide.

If you use subcontractors. This is where remodelers get hurt financially. If a sub does not carry their own workers compensation and general liability:

• Their payroll can be added to your premium at audit, producing a bill months after the job closed.
• Their injured worker can become your claim.
• The subcontractor exception to your own your-work exclusion becomes complicated.

The control is simple and non-negotiable: collect a current certificate from every subcontractor before they start, and again at renewal. Track expiration dates. Write the requirement into your subcontract with a right to withhold payment.

Texas-specific legal context

Residential Construction Liability Act. Chapter 27 of the Texas Property Code establishes notice and opportunity-to-repair procedures for residential construction defect claims. A homeowner generally must give written notice describing the defect and allow an inspection and a chance to make a settlement offer before filing suit. Understanding this process matters because how you respond to a defect notice affects both the outcome and your insurer's position. Report defect notices to your carrier promptly rather than trying to resolve them quietly and reporting later.

Anti-indemnity rules. Texas restricts certain broad indemnity provisions in construction contracts. Contracts that try to make you indemnify another party for that party's own negligence may be limited or unenforceable, and the additional insured requirements attached to them can be affected as well. Have unusual indemnity language reviewed rather than signed.

Licensing. Texas does not license general remodeling contractors at the state level. Specialty trades including electrical, plumbing, and HVAC are licensed through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Cities and counties impose their own registration, permit, bond, and insurance requirements, and those vary considerably across the Houston metro. Confirm requirements for each jurisdiction you work in.

Certificates and contract compliance

The document that gates your work is the certificate of insurance, and Texas regulates what it can say.

Under Insurance Code Chapter 1811, a certificate cannot state anything the policy does not already provide. If a general contractor requires additional insured status, a waiver of subrogation, or primary and non-contributory wording, those must exist as endorsements on your policy before a certificate can report them.

Two distinctions that cause most rejections:

• Blanket versus scheduled additional insured. A blanket endorsement operates where a written contract requires it, but TDI states a certificate may not name a specific holder as additional insured when only a blanket endorsement exists. It can state the blanket endorsement exists, and you can send the endorsement form itself, which usually satisfies a reviewer.
• Ongoing versus completed operations. Many contracts require both. Many policies endorse only one. Read the requirement carefully.

The habit that eliminates most emergencies: send the insurance exhibit to your agent at bid stage, not the day the certificate is due. See the same-day COI guide.

What drives your premium

• Revenue and payroll, the primary exposure basis. Policies are auditable, so estimating low defers the bill rather than reducing it.
• Work mix. Residential versus commercial, and how much structural, roofing, or exterior work you do.
• Subcontractor usage, and critically whether they are insured.
• Height and scope restrictions.
• Loss history, typically three to five years.
• Years in business.
• Limits and deductibles selected.

A pre-bid checklist

• Is residential work covered without exclusion, confirmed in writing?
• Are your general liability limits at least what your largest contract requires?
• Is completed operations coverage included, and for how long after job completion?
• Do you have a tools and equipment policy, and does the per-item sublimit cover your most expensive tool?
• Are work vehicles on a commercial auto policy?
• Do you have workers compensation, or a documented reason you do not?
• Do you hold a current certificate from every active subcontractor?
• Are additional insured and waiver endorsements actually on the policy, not just promised?
• Do you need contractors pollution liability for lead, asbestos, or mold exposure?
• Do you carry professional liability if you provide any design services?
• Is there an umbrella above your general liability and auto limits?

Three jobs, three different exposures

A $28,000 kitchen refresh. Cabinets, countertops, backsplash, paint, no structural work, no permits beyond electrical. Your general liability is the main coverage, and the realistic claim is resulting water damage from a disconnected supply line or damage to finished floors during delivery. Tools coverage matters because you are working out of the truck. The homeowner is your client, so there is no general contractor imposing certificate requirements, which means nobody is checking your coverage except you.

A $180,000 addition with a permit and a structural engineer. Now you have soil disturbance, framing, roof tie-in, and a design professional involved. Builders risk becomes a real question, because the homeowner's policy may restrict coverage during construction and the partially built structure is exposed to Texas weather. If you are providing any design input, professional liability enters the picture. Subcontractor certificates matter enormously here, because you are using framers, electricians, plumbers, and roofers, and each uninsured one lands on your audit and potentially on your claim.

A commercial tenant buildout for a national franchise. The insurance exhibit will be long. Expect $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate general liability, $1,000,000 commercial auto, statutory workers compensation with $1,000,000 employers liability, an umbrella often at $2,000,000 or more, additional insured on a primary and non-contributory basis for both ongoing and completed operations, and a waiver of subrogation. Every one of those beyond the limits is an endorsement. This is the job that teaches remodelers to read insurance exhibits at bid stage, usually the hard way.

The pattern: your exposure is not driven by revenue. It is driven by who your client is and what they make you sign.

Completed operations and the long tail

The claim that arrives two years after you finished is the one remodelers are least prepared for.

Completed operations coverage responds to damage caused by your finished work after you have left the job. Because Texas residential construction defect claims can surface years later, and because the Residential Construction Liability Act process gives homeowners a structured path to bring them, this coverage is not optional for a remodeler.

Three things to verify:

• Is completed operations included, and is there a separate aggregate for it?
• What is your claims-made status? Most general liability is occurrence-based, meaning the policy in force when the damage occurred responds even if you report it years later. Some contractor policies are claims-made, which behaves very differently. Know which you have.
• What happens if you retire or close the business? Occurrence coverage continues to respond for work done during the policy period. Claims-made coverage stops unless you buy tail.

Contracts frequently require you to maintain completed operations coverage for a stated period after substantial completion, commonly two to five years. That obligation survives the job, and it constrains your ability to drop coverage or switch to a carrier with a different form.

Where Argo fits

Remodeling is a class where carrier appetite varies enormously. Residential percentage, structural work, height restrictions, and subcontractor usage each move which companies will write you and at what price. An agency limited to one carrier can only offer that carrier's answer.

Send your revenue, work mix, subcontractor practices, loss runs, and any contract insurance exhibits you are working against. Start with a contractor general liability quote or review Houston contractor requirements.

Coverage descriptions here are general. Exclusions, endorsements, and limits vary by carrier, and the policy issued controls. Nothing here is legal advice about a specific contract or defect claim.