What Texas requires

Texas is the only state where workers’ comp is optional for most private employers — but non-subscribers lose critical legal defenses, carry their own reporting duties, and are shut out of many contracts. Employers who carry coverage file DWC Form-001 within 8 days of a lost-time injury.

Industries we insure in Austin

Austin’s boom economy fits our programs:

• Technology companies — the relocation capital’s defining payroll
• Restaurants — barbecue, tacos, and a national food-city rise
• Fitness studios & gyms — an outdoor, active city’s studios
• Offices & professional services — the firms following the headquarters
• Bars & taverns — the live-music capital’s core industry

Austin workers’ comp rates

Texas loss costs are among the lowest in the country and fell another 3.8% effective July 1, 2026 — TDI publishes the full class tables publicly. Our Texas rates guide lists key values.

Austin rates on Texas’ published loss costs — down 3.8% July 2026, with tech-office classes at pennies per $100. Relocating companies’ biggest error is leaving remote out-of-state staff off the Texas policy; we fix that on day one.

How we work for Austin employers

• One application, a dozen A-rated carriers — including specialty markets that actively want your class of business
• Pay-as-you-go billing — premium follows your actual payroll instead of an annual estimate
• Same-day certificates — when a contract, lease, or license is waiting on proof of coverage
• Classification and mod reviews — the two levers that quietly decide what Austin businesses overpay
• Ghost policies — for owner-only operations that just need compliant proof of coverage

Austin workers’ comp FAQs

We moved from California — how much cheaper is Texas comp?

Dramatically — Texas loss costs run a fraction of California pure premiums for identical classes, and they fell again in 2026. The published tables on our Texas rates page show the actual values.

Do Sixth Street bars need special coverage?

Bar classes carry alcohol-venue exposure with late-hour claims — hospitality-fluent carriers price 9084-type classes fairly, and documented security procedures help.

Our Austin startup kept remote staff in three states — covered?

Only if those states are on the policy — the standard relocation gap. We list every remote state correctly at binding.

More Texas resources

Workers’ comp in San Antonio · Workers’ comp in Dallas · Workers’ comp in Houston · Texas guide · Texas rates · Texas forms