Commercial truck insurance in Houston, from the port to the plant
Houston trucks need at least the liability the law sets: $750,000 for interstate for-hire freight, $500,000 for Texas-only trucks over 26,000 pounds, and $1 million to $5 million for hazmat. Hauling containers at Port Houston adds the UIIA's $1 million auto and general liability, while cargo and physical damage protect the load and your truck.
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Simplex Group at a glance
What commercial truck insurance do Houston carriers need by law?
The minimum depends on where you run and what you haul, not on the city. Federal limits apply once you cross state lines, and Texas limits apply to trucks that stay in Texas.
| What you haul | Interstate (federal) | Texas only (TxDMV) |
|---|---|---|
| General freight, for hire | $750,000 (10,001 lb or more) | $500,000 (over 26,000 lb, for-hire or private) |
| Oil, hazardous waste, and other hazardous materials | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 for placarded loads, including fuels and lubricants |
| Certain high-hazard loads, such as hazardous substances in bulk tanks or hoppers | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
In short, the Texas rule is this: a Texas-only carrier running trucks over 26,000 pounds, placarded hazmat, or household goods needs a TxDMV certificate, and TxDMV issues it only after your insurer files proof of insurance. That filing has to stay active at all times while you operate. Our Texas commercial truck insurance page covers the state rules in full.
These are floors. Contracts can require more, and at the port they do.
What insurance does Port Houston drayage require?
More than federal law does, because container interchange runs on a contract, the UIIA. Port Houston handled a record 4,303,345 TEUs in 2025 and reported serving about 2.5 million trucks. Most of that work is short-haul: a 2020 TxDOT study found 75 to 80% of truck trips in and out of the Barbours Cut, Bayport, and Jacintoport terminals start or end within about 15 miles of them.
Before you pull a container, Port Houston’s gate process expects current UIIA information and an approved SCAC code, a truck registered in LYNX, and a valid TWIC card for every driver.
What the UIIA requires from your policies
The UIIA is the standard interchange contract between intermodal motor carriers and equipment providers, meaning ocean carriers, railroads, and leasing companies. Its insurance requirements are contractual, and they are higher than the federal minimum:
- Auto liability: $1 million combined single limit, written for any auto, all owned and hired autos, or scheduled and hired autos. An owned-only or scheduled-only policy is not accepted, which makes your commercial auto symbols matter.
- Interchange endorsement: the UIIE-1, CA 23 17, or TE 23 17B endorsement on the auto policy.
- General liability: $1 million per occurrence, with no portion self-insured. Our guide to CGL insurance for truckers explains what it covers.
- Trailer interchange and cargo: most equipment providers require both, at limits that vary by provider. Trailer interchange pays for physical damage to the container or chassis you don’t own while it is in your care.
- Additional insureds: every equipment provider you work with, on the auto policy and on other policies where the provider requires it.
The UIIA expires a policy at 12:01 a.m. on its expiration date, so renewals have to reach it before that day. We place UIIA and trailer interchange coverage along with the rest of your commercial truck insurance.
How do chemical and hazmat loads change your limits?
They can raise your required liability from $750,000 to $1 million or $5 million. Chemicals and plastics are a large share of Houston freight. Port Houston reports that 2025 increases in chemical tankers, bulk, and general cargo on the Ship Channel reflected demand for petrochemicals, crude oil, plastics, and machinery. By its estimate, resins and plastics were about 45% of its containerized exports in 2025: 729,864 of 1,605,043 TEUs.
Not every plastic or chemical load is hazmat. The classification sets your limit:
- $1 million: oil and hazardous materials not in the $5 million group, in any quantity across state lines. In Texas-only work, TxDMV applies it to placarded hazmat and to fuels and lubricants.
- $5 million: hazardous substances in bulk cargo tanks, portable tanks, or hoppers, plus bulk explosives, certain poison gases, and highway route controlled radioactive material.
- Intrastate is no exemption: the federal $5 million rule covers intrastate trips, and the $1 million rule covers intrastate trips in bulk. A tanker hauling bulk hazmat that never leaves the Ship Channel still needs those limits.
Port Houston also requires hazardous cargo to be approved before it enters the container terminals. Auto liability does not cover most pollution clean-up, so ask about pollution liability if you haul chemicals.
What drives the cost of truck insurance in Houston?
Your operation, more than your address. Insurers rate what you haul, your radius, your equipment, where the trucks are garaged, your limits, and your safety record. For benchmarks and the full list, see how much commercial truck insurance costs.
Three of those factors play out in specific ways in Houston:
- Radius: port and local work are short-haul, and many fleets mix them with longer runs. Describe the real split, because a quote built on the wrong radius prices the wrong risk.
- Commodity: hazmat and chemical loads carry higher required limits and higher premiums.
- Safety record: TxDOT’s study of 2013 to 2017 crash data found the heaviest crash concentrations at freeway interchanges such as I-10 at SH 99 west, I-610 at I-69 west, I-610 at I-45 south, and I-45 at the NASA Bypass. Each crash and inspection your drivers log on those roads feeds the record underwriters read, as our guide to CSA scores and truck insurance explains.
Which insurance filings keep a Houston carrier running?
Up to three, depending on your work, and your insurer or agent files each one:
- FMCSA (interstate authority): after you apply for MC authority, your insurer files proof of liability. If it isn’t filed within 20 days of publication in the FMCSA Register, FMCSA notifies you that the application will be dismissed unless you comply within 60 days, and the filing must stay on file to avoid revocation.
- TxDMV (Texas-only authority): your insurer files in TxMCCS, and only the insurer can file or cancel it. A lapse can bring penalties or revocation of your certificate. Keep the insurance cab card in the truck.
- UIIA (port drayage): your agent submits one online ACORD 22 certificate to IANA, which administers the UIIA, showing your limits, the interchange endorsement, and your equipment providers as additional insureds.
How to get a commercial truck insurance quote in Houston
Step 1: Describe your freight
Tell us what you haul and whether it is placarded, your split of port, local, and long-haul runs, and where the trucks are garaged. If you are leased on to a carrier, ask about non-trucking liability for off-dispatch time.
Step 2: Gather your records
Your USDOT, MC, or TxDMV numbers, three to five years of loss runs, a driver list with motor vehicle records, and a unit schedule with VINs and values.
Step 3: List your contract requirements
Your UIIA status, the equipment providers you interchange with, and any shipper or broker limits above the legal minimum.
Step 4: Request your quote
A licensed agent follows up with options. Our Houston office is at 6633 Portwest Dr, Suite 110, and we also handle DOT compliance in Houston.
Sources
The rules and figures on this page come from these official sources, checked on September 25, 2026.
- eCFR: 49 CFR 387.9, Financial responsibility, minimum levels: Federal liability minimums ($750,000, $1 million, $5 million) and when they reach intrastate hazmat.
- TxDMV: TxDMV Number: Who needs a Texas intrastate certificate, the TxDMV insurance minimums, filings, and cab card.
- FMCSA: Insurance Filing Requirements: Insurance filings for interstate operating authority, the 20-day and 60-day deadlines, and revocation.
- Intermodal Association of North America: UIIA Insurance Requirements: UIIA auto, general liability, trailer interchange, endorsement, additional insured, and expiration rules.
- Port Houston: Container Terminal Gate Process (2026): UIIA, SCAC, LYNX registration, TWIC, and hazardous cargo approval before terminal entry.
- Port Houston: Best Year Yet (January 30, 2026): 2025 container volume, trucks served, and petrochemical cargo on the Ship Channel.
- Port Houston: Container Volume by Commodity, 2025: Resins and plastics share of loaded export containers.
- TxDOT: Houston District Truck Mobility Study, Executive Summary (2020): Short-haul truck patterns at the east Port Houston terminals and freeway crash concentrations.
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A book built over decades — carriers pick up when we call, and you get real market options, not one quote.
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Insurance, DOT compliance, and permitting under one roof — not four vendors and a spreadsheet.
Real agents, fast quotes
Give us the basics once; a licensed agent comes back with real numbers — not a call-center loop.
Annual reviews, always
Your business changes and grows — we recommend a yearly policy review so you're never paying for coverage that no longer fits your operation.
Frequently asked questions
How much is commercial truck insurance in Houston?+
There is no single Houston price. Your premium depends on what you haul, your radius, equipment, limits, and safety record, so the reliable way to know is a quote built on your operation.
Do I need $1 million in liability to haul containers from Port Houston?+
In practice, yes. Federal law requires $750,000 for interstate general freight, but the UIIA, which Port Houston’s gate process expects to be current, requires $1 million in auto liability and $1 million in general liability.
What insurance does a Texas-only trucking company in Houston need?+
At least $500,000 in liability for trucks over 26,000 pounds, $1 million for placarded hazmat, fuels, and lubricants, and $5 million for certain bulk hazmat. Your insurer must file it with TxDMV and keep it filed.
What limits do I need to haul hazmat in Houston?+
$1 million for oil and most hazardous materials, and $5 million for bulk hazardous substances, bulk explosives, and certain poison gases. Those limits apply to intrastate bulk loads too.
Is Simplex Group an insurance company?+
No. We are a broker: we quote and place commercial truck insurance with insurance companies, so you get market options rather than one quote, and we handle the filings.
Does Simplex Group have an office in Houston?+
Yes. Our Houston office is at 6633 Portwest Dr, Suite 110, Houston, TX 77024.
Other services
Simplex Group is a full-service trucking partner — insurance is one piece of a much larger toolkit.