Tow truck insurance in Texas for rollbacks and wreckers
The car on your bed and the cars in your storage lot are not covered by your auto liability, and that is the gap that sinks tow companies. Tow truck insurance in Texas has to cover the vehicle behind you, the lot you store it on, and the driver working a shoulder next to live traffic.
- Licensed
- Texas insurance agency
- Filings
- Form E, BMC-91X, MCS-90
- Writes
- 1 truck to 50-unit fleets
- Office
- Dallas, TX
This policy at a glance
- Auto liability
- Physical damage
- On-hook
- Garagekeepers
- General liability
- Workers' compensation
TDLR sets limits by license type; wreckers over 26,000 lbs need $500,000
Motor clubs and police rotation lists often want $1,000,000 auto liability
TDLR licenses; Form E (TxDMV) for wreckers over 26,000 lbs
- Truck types
- Consent and nonconsent mix
- Lot security
- On-hook and garagekeepers limits
On-hook coverage for the car behind you
Auto liability pays for damage you do to other people with the tow truck. It does not pay for the customer's car on your rollback or on your wheel-lift.
On-hook coverage fills that gap. It pays for damage to the towed vehicle while it is hooked up or loaded, subject to the form.
Set the on-hook limit by the most expensive vehicle you tow, not the average sedan. A light-duty operator who takes the occasional loaded pickup or RV needs a higher limit than one who only runs motor club calls. Heavy recovery is a different scale: a loaded tractor and trailer coming out of a ditch on I-20 can carry a value many times a car's.
Recovered cargo and spills are where heavy operators find surprises. On-hook may cover the tractor and trailer you recover, but the freight inside and any spill cleanup can fall outside it. Some insurers offer endorsements for cargo on recovered units and for pollution cleanup.
| Coverage | What it covers for a tow operator |
|---|---|
| Auto liability | Injury and damage you cause while driving the tow truck |
| Physical damage | Your wrecker or rollback after a crash, theft, fire, or hail |
| On-hook towing | Damage to the customer's vehicle while it is hooked up or on your bed |
| Garagekeepers legal liability | Damage to customer vehicles stored on your lot, such as theft, fire, or vandalism |
| General liability | Claims at your yard or office that do not involve driving |
| Workers' compensation | Injuries to your drivers, which happen often in roadside work |
Garagekeepers and the storage lot after a hailstorm
Once a vehicle comes off the hook and sits on your lot, it becomes a garagekeepers question. Garagekeepers legal liability covers customer vehicles in your care for losses like theft, fire, vandalism, or hail, depending on the form. Some versions pay only when you are legally liable.
Others pay regardless of fault. Know which one you have before a spring storm drops hail on 60 impounded cars at once.
Lot security affects the price. Fencing, lighting, and cameras all count, and underwriters ask about them. If you run a repair or body shop beside the lot, the policy also has to account for vehicles in the shop and the work done there, not just vehicles on the hook.
TDLR licensing and the insurance it expects
Texas regulates towing through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), which licenses tow companies, tow operators, and vehicle storage facilities. TDLR sets its own insurance requirements for each license type, and the amounts change by tow type, so confirm the current numbers with TDLR and the agent before you apply. Keep your TDLR license numbers for the company and each driver handy, since underwriters ask for them.
Weight rules apply on top of TDLR. A heavy wrecker over 26,000 lbs running in Texas needs a TxDMV number and at least $500,000 in liability on file.
Light-duty rollbacks often fall under that line. If you tow across state lines for hire with a truck of 10,001 lbs or more, FMCSA rules can apply.
Motor clubs and police rotation lists add their own minimums. Many ask for $1,000,000 in auto liability and set on-hook and garagekeepers limits. Get each program's requirements in writing.
Lenders on new rollbacks and wreckers want physical damage with the lender named as loss payee, and rotator loans often cap the deductible. Rotators carry very high values, so confirm the stated amount matches the truck, boom, and gear.
Consent, nonconsent, and rotation calls price differently
Underwriters look at what you tow, how often, and where the calls come from. Nonconsent and private property impound work tends to bring more disputes and claims from vehicle owners than motor club work.
Police rotation calls put drivers on crash scenes on busy freeways. Give the agent an honest split of your call mix, because it shapes the whole quote.
- Truck types: rollbacks, wheel-lifts, heavy wreckers, and rotators
- Mix of consent, nonconsent, police rotation, and private property impound work
- On-hook and garagekeepers limits
- Lot security: fencing, lighting, cameras
- Driver experience, TDLR operator licenses, and MVRs
- Garaging ZIP code and metro area
- Claim history and loss runs
- Limits and deductibles
Shoulder work on Houston and DFW freeways
Texas tow operators work some of the busiest and most dangerous stretches of road in the country. In Houston, I-45, I-10, I-610, and Beltway 8 carry heavy traffic all day, and crash clearance on those roads puts drivers on narrow shoulders with traffic passing at high speed.
Texas has a Move Over or Slow Down law that covers tow trucks with lights on, but struck-by injuries still happen. That is why workers' compensation and driver safety programs count for so much in this line.
Dallas-Fort Worth is just as busy. I-35E, I-635, I-30, and I-20 see constant crashes and breakdowns, and many cities run police rotation programs with their own rules and insurance minimums. Austin and San Antonio along I-35 add more crash work, and the long construction zones in Austin create tight work areas with no shoulder at all.
Heavy recovery is a big part of the market along freight corridors. Semi crashes and rollovers on I-10 in West Texas, I-20 through the Permian, and I-35 near Laredo need heavy wreckers and rotators.
Those jobs bring high on-hook values, since a loaded trailer and tractor can be worth a lot, along with cargo spill cleanup that may need its own coverage. Ask the agent how your policy handles cargo you recover.
Weather brings surges of work and risk. Spring hail in DFW damages thousands of cars at once, and tow lots fill fast. Lots that store a crowd of damaged cars carry more garagekeepers exposure.
Houston floods leave flooded vehicles stranded on freeways and in neighborhoods, and tow operators run around the clock to clear them, often through water. Hurricanes on the Gulf Coast bring the same rush at a bigger scale. Ice storms in North and Central Texas lead to pileups on I-35 and I-20, with recovery work in freezing conditions.
Private property towing and vehicle storage are regulated by TDLR. Keep your storage lot licensed, lit, and secured, since lot security affects garagekeepers pricing.
Questions truckers ask
What is on-hook towing insurance?
On-hook coverage pays for damage to a customer's vehicle while it is attached to your tow truck or loaded on your bed. Your auto liability does not cover the car you are towing, so on-hook fills that gap. Pick a limit that fits the most expensive vehicle you tow, especially if you do heavy recovery.
What is garagekeepers coverage for a tow company?
Garagekeepers liability covers customer vehicles in your care at your lot or shop, for losses like theft, fire, vandalism, or hail, depending on the form. Some policies pay only when you are legally liable, while others pay regardless of fault. Ask the agent which version you have and how it handles weather.
Who sets tow truck insurance requirements in Texas?
TDLR licenses tow companies and sets insurance requirements by license type, so check its current rules first. TxDMV rules apply to heavy wreckers over 26,000 lbs, and FMCSA can apply to interstate for-hire towing. Motor clubs and police rotation lists add their own minimums. The agent can match your policy to all of them.
Does tow insurance cover my driver getting hit on the shoulder?
Auto liability does not cover your own driver's injuries. Workers' compensation does, if you carry it. Texas lets most private employers skip workers' comp as non-subscribers, but they lose common-law defenses in injury suits. Given how often roadside crews are struck, most tow owners at least get a quote for workers' comp.
Are recovered cargo and spills covered on a heavy wreck?
Not always. On-hook coverage may cover the truck and trailer you recover, but the cargo inside and any spill cleanup can fall outside it. Some insurers offer endorsements for cargo on recovered units and for pollution cleanup. Heavy recovery operators should ask the agent to explain exactly what is and is not covered.
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