Roofing Contractor Insurance in Texas

A demand can come from three places, and each binds you differently.

The state. No license means no license-based insurance minimum. We found no Texas statute that requires a roofer to carry general liability, but that is an absence in what we read, not a rule anyone wrote down.

The city. Houston has a registration program, and the City calls it voluntary: “The City of Houston has a Voluntary Registration Program for roofing contractors.” To register, a roofer must have proof of comprehensive general liability “with minimum limits of $500,000 of death or bodily injury and $500,000 for property damage, per occurrence”, by certificate or policy.

The same City page names electrical, plumbing and mechanical as the trades that must register, and does not name roofing among them. Its contact number for the program is 832.394.8840. The page is undated, so call to confirm the program is still running as described.

Source: Houston Permitting Center — residential plan review (undated). Verified 30 October 2026.

Other cities work differently. A June 2025 City of Arlington consumer article says general and construction contractors need to register with the City to get a building permit, and that roofing repairs over 10% of the roof surface need a permit. A March 2023 City permitting notice lists an active general contracting, home builder or remodeler, or reroof contractor registration among the things its reroof permit keeps requiring. Neither gives an insurance figure, and neither is the ordinance. For any other city, ask its permit office.

Sources: City of Arlington — Tips for Choosing a Contractor, June 3, 2025 (read through a fetch summary only; the site refuses direct requests); City of Arlington — New Reroof Permit notice, March 10, 2023. Verified 30 October 2026.

The contract. Here, the contract’s wording is what you have to match. One published Texas example, written for all of a school district’s vendors and contractors rather than for roofers: Comal ISD asks for $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate, proof of workers’ compensation, additional insured status on a primary and non-contributory basis, a waiver of subrogation, and 30 days’ notice of cancellation or non-renewal. Those terms apply to subcontractors at all tiers.

Source: Comal ISD — insurance requirements. Verified 30 October 2026.

Homeowners may ask too. The Texas Department of Insurance tells them to. A 2017 TDI guide on roof repairs says to make sure the contractor “has insurance or a bond”. A 2014 TDI FAQ suggests asking for the certificate and calling the insurance company to confirm the policy is valid. This is consumer guidance, not a legal requirement.

Sources: TDI — Repairing My Roof after a Storm, September 2017; TDI — unlicensed adjusting FAQ, May 2014. Verified 30 October 2026.

A certificate shows that a policy exists and its limits. It does not show the endorsements that can narrow the policy, and roofing is a trade where those matter. This comes from trade press and agents’ guidance, not any particular policy, so treat each item as a question to ask.

• Hot work. Some policies exclude torch-down or other heat application, or allow it only on conditions such as a fire watch.
• Open roof. Some limit or exclude water damage while the roof is open, and some attach conditions such as weather monitoring and tarping.
• Height. Some apply only below a set height, in feet or stories. We have not seen a standard number, so read yours.
• Residential. Some policies cover only commercial work, and some exclude condos, apartments, single-family homes or tract housing.
• Type of work. Some exclude designated work or exclude work by type.
• Breach of contract. Some exclude claims that arise from the contract.

Two cases, both as reported in the National Roofing Contractors Association’s magazine, show the difference this makes. Neither is from Texas.

In a 2016 Virginia federal case, a roofing subcontractor held a certificate showing $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. Its torches started a fire, and the loss was $3,749,315. The policy carried a roofing endorsement excluding operations involving “hot tar, wand, open flame, torch or heat applications, or membrane roofing”, and the court found the insurer had no duty to defend or pay.

In a Michigan case, water entered a restaurant during a re-roof despite tarps, causing $1.2 million in damage. That insurer could not rely on its open-roof exclusion, because it did not prove the exclusion applied. The wording and the facts decide.

The practical step is to ask for the policy’s schedule of forms and endorsements and read each one before you need it.

Sources: Phillips, “Look out”, NRCA Professional Roofing, January 2019; Germond, IndependentAgent, January 3, 2025. Verified 30 October 2026.

Describe the work you actually do. A remodeler who does some roofing is a different risk from a roofer, and the share of each kind of work helps decide your class. If a policy is written around a description of the work, ask what happens to a job outside it. That applies to a handyman taking roof repairs and to a roofer adding windows or painting.

We don’t give a cost figure, because we can’t honestly state one for your business. Published averages exist, but they can’t tell you what your own operation will pay. These are the facts a carrier is likely to ask about:

• Annual receipts or payroll, which carriers commonly rate on. Ask whether the policy is audited against what you actually take in.
• Residential or commercial, and new construction or re-roof.
• Steep-slope or low-slope, and the heights you work at.
• Any torch-applied or hot work.
• Subcontractors, and whether you collect their certificates.
• Crew size, and whether you carry comp.
• Claims history, and whether you are new in business.
• The limits your contracts already ask for.