Workers compensation and the Texas exception.

Workers compensation pays the medical costs and lost wages of employees injured at work, regardless of fault. Every other state requires most employers to carry it. Texas does not — which makes this the one commercial policy where Dallas business owners face a genuine decision rather than a compliance requirement, and where the decision is frequently made without the full picture.

Subscribing and non-subscribing

Employers that carry workers compensation are subscribers. In exchange for paying benefits regardless of fault, they gain substantial protection from being sued by an injured employee — the policy becomes, in most cases, the exclusive remedy.

Employers that decline are non-subscribers. They must notify the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation, and must tell their employees. Critically, they also lose important common-law defences: a non-subscriber sued by an injured employee cannot argue that the employee's own negligence or that of a co-worker caused the injury. That is a significant shift in exposure, and it is the part most often missed.

When you will be required to carry it anyway

Public contracts in Texas generally require workers compensation for work performed under the contract. Many general contractors require it of their subcontractors regardless of the law, and will not let you on site without a certificate.

In practice, most businesses that bid for commercial or public work end up carrying cover because their clients demand it, whatever the state permits. If you are pricing work that requires it, get the cover arranged before the bid rather than after.