Texas Car Insurance Rates and How They Are Set

Texas does not set the price of your car insurance. Each insurance company sets its own auto rates, sends them to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), and may start using them as soon as it sends them; TDI then reviews the filing against state law ¹. That arrangement is why Texas prices can move quickly in either direction, and why two Texas drivers with similar records can see very different renewals.

Recent reported filings in Texas point down. The department said on October 8, 2026 that companies have filed auto rate decreases impacting 4.4 million policyholders since July 1, 2026 ⁴. A filed decrease is an average for the company's existing policyholders, not a promise about any one bill. If your own renewal went up anyway, our guide to why car insurance goes up walks through the personal reasons that can outweigh a statewide trend.

On its consumer page about how insurance costs are calculated, TDI says it "doesn't set insurance rates or premiums." Companies change their rates and premium formulas by sending them to TDI, a step TDI calls a rate filing, and they "can use the new rates the same day they send them to TDI or can choose a later effective date." Companies must provide an analysis that supports the changes, and TDI's actuaries review it and ask for more information if it is needed ¹. This is the system usually described as file and use: the filing comes first, the review follows, and the new rate can already be in use while the review happens.

The review still has a legal standard behind it. TDI's page says state law requires that rates be adequate, not be excessive, and be based on sound actuarial principles ¹. TDI's rate filing page adds that insurance companies are required to file their home and auto rates with TDI before they use them to set premiums, and that TDI reviews the filings to check that they follow state laws ².

In September 2026, TDI reminded insurers in Commissioner's Bulletin B0007-26 that using factors other than insurance risk to set home and auto rates is illegal in Texas. Its release gives an example of that practice, often called price optimization: charging long-term customers more on the assumption that they are less likely to shop around ⁶.

TDI publishes each home and auto filing with the company name, the date TDI received it, the product, the percent change, the filing number, the effective dates and the status. TDI describes the percent change as "the estimated impact that the rate change has on existing policyholders," and notes the impact could be higher or lower for any one policyholder ². A filing marked pending is still under TDI review; a closed filing has finished review ². Our explainer on what a rate filing is covers how to read one in more detail.

The live table below lists recent Texas auto rate filings from TDI's public data. It is refreshed weekly from the department's own records, so we do not repeat its numbers in the text.

The same release named two of those auto filings. Auto Club County Mutual Insurance Company filed a 3% decrease affecting about 235,000 policyholders, and Loya Insurance Company filed a 10.3% decrease affecting about 39,000 policyholders ⁴. Insurance Journal reported the same two filings with the same figures ⁵. The release describes these as filings and says TDI reviews all rate filings to make sure proposed rates meet state law; it does not say the review is finished ⁴. As with every filing, the percentage is an average across each company's existing policyholders.

Insurance Commissioner Amanda Crawford said in that coverage that the department was "pleased to see some relief beginning to reach the market" ⁵. Reports put the number of companies selling auto and homeowners insurance in Texas at about 160 ⁵.

In June 2026, TDI put a search tool online so consumers can check whether their home or auto insurer has filed a rate change, alongside county-level homeowners data ³. That tool, and the table above, show filings at the company level. They cannot tell you what your own renewal will be, because your price also depends on your driving record, your vehicle, where you park it, the coverage you carry and the discounts you keep.

A filed decrease is an average. TDI notes that the impact of a filing could be higher or lower for any one policyholder than the published percent change ². Separately from any filing, a renewal can go up because a driver was added, a ticket or claim was recorded, a discount ended, the vehicle changed, or coverage limits changed. Our page on whether car insurance rates are going down explains why averages and individual bills often move differently.

If a renewal notice is hard to follow, our guide to reading a renewal notice shows where the reasons for a change usually appear. Asking the insurer or agent which factors changed is a reasonable first step. Comparing quotes from several insurers is another way to see whether a price is in line with the market.

A Texas law that took effect for decisions made after January 1, 2026, HB 2067, requires insurers to tell you in writing why they declined, canceled or did not renew your auto or home insurance ⁷. If you received one of those decisions without an explanation, TDI is the place to ask.

TDI's Help Line is 800-252-3439, answered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday ⁸. TDI says it can help with complaints against companies, agents and adjusters, and guides consumers through the steps of filing a complaint with the department ⁸. Questions about rate filings can also go to [email protected] ².

TDI's June 2026 release also points consumers to HelpInsure.com for comparing sample rates and policies and checking a company's financial rating and complaint index ³. For anything about a specific claim or a specific policy decision, start with your insurer and then TDI; we do not give claims advice.

QuotePitStop is a lead-generation service, not an insurance company, agent or broker. We are not affiliated with the insurers named.

• ¹ Official record: TDI's description of how companies set and file rates, that new rates can be used the same day they are sent, and the legal rate standards, checked October 11, 2026.
• ² Official record: TDI's rate filing page, the fields in its filing data, the meaning of percent change and pending or closed status, and the property and casualty email, checked October 11, 2026.
• ³ Official record: TDI's June 22, 2026 release on the rate filing search tool and HelpInsure.com, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁴ Official record: TDI's October 8, 2026 release, auto rate decreases filed since July 1, 2026 impacting 4.4 million policyholders, the Auto Club County Mutual and Loya filings, and TDI's review of filings, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁵ Reported: Insurance Journal's October 9, 2026 report of the same two filings, the commissioner's quote and the count of about 160 companies, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁶ Official record: TDI's September 2, 2026 release on Commissioner's Bulletin B0007-26 and price optimization, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁷ Official record: TDI's February 24, 2026 release on HB 2067 written reasons, checked October 11, 2026.
• ⁸ Official record: TDI's complaint help page and Help Line hours, checked October 11, 2026.