How to Choose a Commercial Insurance Agency in Texas

What Should You Look for in a Commercial Insurance Agency?

Look for five things: a valid Texas license, access to the right insurers, real experience with your type of property, a clear service model, and straight answers in writing. Price matters too. But the agency's real job is to match your property to the right coverage and to stay with you through claims.

We would give this checklist to a friend comparing any agency, including ours. Use it to compare agencies side by side.

How Do You Verify a Texas Insurance Agency's License?

Use the license lookup from the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). You can search for an agent by name or license number, and for an agency by name or license number. TDI's lookup page lists the options.

According to TDI, agent and agency profiles show the license number, license type, qualification, expiration date, status and active appointments. Agency profiles also list officers and directors. An appointment is the record that an insurer has authorized that agent to sell its policies.

• Check the agency and the person. The agency holds its own license, and the agent advising you should hold one too.
• Match the names. The names on the proposal, the invoice and the license should line up. If they don't, ask why.
• Check the insurer too. TDI's company lookup lets you check whether an insurance company may sell in Texas and links to complaint information.
• Call if you're unsure. TDI's Help Line (800-252-3439) can confirm a license and tell you about complaints and disciplinary actions.

What Is the Difference Between an Independent and a Captive Agency?

An independent agency has appointments with several insurers and can compare their quotes. A captive agency represents one insurance company. Some insurers also sell directly, without a local agent.

No one model is right for everyone. For Texas commercial property, though, being able to compare matters more than usual. Insurers often differ on roof age, coastal wind, older wiring and vacancy, so one may decline a building that another will write.

Why Does Market Access Matter, Including Surplus Lines?

Market access means the insurers an agency can actually place your business with. Ask which ones write your kind of property. How many company logos appear on the website tells you little.

When standard Texas-licensed insurers decline a risk, surplus lines insurance may fill the gap. TDI does not license surplus lines insurers, but it decides which ones are eligible to do business in Texas. TDI's surplus lines guide says the agent must first try to find a Texas-licensed company. It also notes that surplus lines insurance has fewer consumer protections.

• No guaranty association. Surplus lines insurers are not members of the Texas guaranty association, so that safety net does not apply if one fails.
• Extra tax. Texas adds a 4.85% surplus lines premium tax (Texas Comptroller) plus a small stamping fee.
• Different wording. Surplus lines policies are often written on the insurer's own forms, so exclusions can vary more from one quote to the next.
• More options. Coastal wind, older roofs, vacant buildings and apartments with past claims often end up in this market.

Many agencies reach surplus lines insurers through a wholesale broker or a managing general agent. That is normal. What matters is that your agency tells you plainly when a quote is surplus lines and what that changes for you.

Does the Agency Know Your Type of Property?

It should. Each type of property has its own traps, and an experienced agent raises them before you ask.

• Gas stations and convenience stores: underground tank financial assurance required by the TCEQ, fuel spills, and beer and wine liability. See gas stations.
• Hotels and motels: guest injuries, assault and battery exclusions, and franchise or lender requirements. See hotels and motels.
• Apartments: stricter habitational underwriting, freeze and water damage, and lawsuits over security. See apartments.
• Shopping centers: tenant certificates, lease insurance clauses and roof condition. See shopping centers.
• Warehouses: whether the sprinklers suit the tenant's goods, vacancy between tenants, and large roofs. See warehouses.
• Office and medical buildings: tenant improvements, equipment and after-hours water leaks. See office and medical.
• Construction projects: Builders risk terms, contractor insurance and the switch to permanent coverage. See builders risk.
• Portfolios: Blanket limits, one renewal date and a clean statement of values. See portfolios.

Here is a useful test. Describe your property in two sentences and ask what concerns the agent about it. A good agent names specific issues and explains how they would present them to underwriters.

What Should Service Look Like After You Buy?

Good service is specific and predictable. You should know who to call, how fast routine paperwork comes back, and when renewal work starts.

Certificates and Lender Paperwork

Tenants, lenders and contractors will ask you for proof of insurance. A certificate of insurance for liability (usually an ACORD 25) or property evidence for a lender (often an ACORD 28) should come back quickly and match the policy exactly. Ask what turnaround time the agency commits to.

Renewals

Ask when renewal work begins. Commercial property renewals usually go more smoothly when the agency starts gathering updates several months ahead. That matters most for coastal or hard-to-place buildings. Also ask how the agency explains premium changes.

The explanation matters. In J.D. Power's 2025 small commercial study, customers who understood why their premium went up were as satisfied as customers who had no increase (J.D. Power).

Claims

The insurer decides a claim, not the agent. But the agency can help you report it quickly, organize photos and invoices, read the policy with you, and follow up when things stall. Texas sets claim-handling deadlines for insurers under the prompt payment rules in Insurance Code Chapter 542. Ask each agency what it does on the first day of a claim.

What Questions Should You Ask Before You Hire an Agency?

Ask questions that need specific answers. A vague answer tells you something too.

1. Is your agency licensed in Texas, and who on your team will handle my account?
2. Which insurers or specialty markets would you approach for my property, and why those?
3. Have you insured properties like mine? What usually goes wrong with them?
4. How do you arrive at the building value you recommend? Will you show me the math?
5. What are the wind, hail and named storm deductibles on each quote, in dollars?
6. Which exclusions or limits on these quotes should I understand first?
7. How fast do you issue certificates and lender evidence of insurance?
8. When do you start renewal work, and how will you explain a premium change?
9. What do you do when I report a claim?
10. How are you paid on this policy, and are there any fees beyond the premium?

If you are switching agencies, ask how an agent of record change works and what happens to your current policies in the meantime.

What Are the Red Flags?

TDI warns about unsolicited calls, high-pressure sales, prices far below everyone else's, requests to pay in cash, and contracts with blank spaces (TDI). For commercial property, add these:

• Promises of “full coverage.” There is no such thing. Every policy has exclusions and limits. Ask which causes of loss are covered, at what limit, with what deductible.
• Comparing on price alone. A cheaper quote may have a higher wind deductible, a lower building value or a missing coverage. Compare line by line.
• Nothing in writing. Limits, deductibles and major exclusions should be in writing before you pay.
• An insurer you can't verify. Every insurer on a quote should show up as licensed or eligible in Texas.
• Surplus lines that isn't explained. You should know when a policy is surplus lines and what that changes.
• Rushed signing. Pressure to sign today, without time to read the quote, is a warning sign.
• No proof after you pay. You should receive a binder or certificate right away, then the full policy.

How Does Primesure Work?

Primesure is an independent insurance agency in Houston that focuses on commercial property. That includes shopping centers, gas stations, hotels and motels, apartments, warehouses, office and medical buildings, builders risk and multi-property portfolios. We work with standard insurers and with specialty (surplus lines) markets.

Please run the same checks on us that you would on anyone. Look us up on TDI's license search, ask us the questions above, and compare our written proposal line by line. You can read how we work before you call.

What Should You Do Next?

1. List your properties with addresses, square footage, year built, roof age and current policy dates.
2. Look up each agency and agent you are considering on TDI's license search.
3. Ask each one the questions above, and note who gives specific answers.
4. Give your finalists the same information so their quotes are comparable.
5. Compare quotes line by line: building values, deductibles in dollars, exclusions, and each insurer's status in Texas.
6. Start 90 to 120 days before your renewal date so there is time to shop properly.
7. When you're ready, request a quote or talk with us. Either way, the checklist works for any agency you meet.

Questions Owners Ask

Sources

1. Texas Department of Insurance — How to find a licensed insurance agent or adjuster
2. Texas Department of Insurance — Lists and databases (what agent and agency profiles show)
3. Texas Department of Insurance — How do I find an insurance agent or company? — license checks, Help Line and red flags
4. Texas Department of Insurance — Look up an insurance company
5. Texas Department of Insurance — Surplus lines insurance guide
6. Texas Comptroller — Surplus lines tax — 4.85% of taxable premiums
7. J.D. Power — 2025 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study