New business leads for insurance agents in Texas

Texas is the biggest market of the five states we track, and the most different. If you prospect Texas like Colorado or New York, you'll miss most of it.

Why Texas new business leads look different

We don't use Texas LLC formations. The public signal we use is new sales-tax permits from the Texas Comptroller, published on the Texas Open Data Portal and refreshed about weekly. A sales-tax permit is a decent sign that a business plans to sell something soon, and holding companies rarely apply for one.

In our October 2026 New Business Pulse, Texas issued 8,057 new sales-tax permits from Oct 3 to 17, 2026 (15 days). 2,996 of them (37%) scored 70 or higher on our 1–100 insurance-need score.

Holding and real-estate entities barely show up: 86 of the 8,057 permits (1.1%), compared with 9.6% to 18.2% of new filings in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New York.

The new-location catch

Sales-tax permits come with one catch. 2,188 of the 8,057 permits (27%) were new locations of businesses that already held a Texas permit. A second taco shop or a new store for an existing chain may need coverage for the location, but the business likely has an agent already. We take 15 points off the score for those, so the brand-new businesses rise to the top. Every Texas lead shows its permit date, so you always know how old it is.

What's forming in Texas

Here are the biggest industries in the same 15 days, with the share of permits that scored 70+:

Retail is the largest group by far, but none of the Texas retail permits scored 70+. In restaurants, construction and trucking, every new permit in the window scored 70+.

Where Texas permits are forming

Top counties by permit location, Oct 3 to 17, 2026:

The workers' comp opening

According to the Texas Department of Insurance, private employers in Texas can choose whether to provide workers' compensation coverage. Employers that don't are called non-subscribers, and they still have duties: they must file a notice of no coverage with the Division of Workers' Compensation, post a notice of no coverage in the workplace (in English, Spanish and any other language needed) and give new employees written notice of no coverage (tdi.texas.gov). Under the Texas Labor Code, a state or local government entity that awards a building or construction contract must require the contractor to certify in writing that it provides workers' comp coverage for each of its employees on the public project (Labor Code §406.096).

For an agent, that's an opening. A new Texas business that plans to hire has a coverage decision to make, so the first call doesn't have to be "can I quote you?" It can be "have you decided how you'll handle on-the-job injuries?" That opens an advisory conversation about the comp decision and what their customers will want to see on a certificate. Point them to TDI for the rules; this isn't legal advice.

Which Texas leads to call first

1. Restaurants and bars: 927 new permits, all scored 70+. Think GL, property, liquor liability if they'll serve alcohol, and the comp decision.
2. Contractors: 429 new permits, all scored 70+. GCs often ask for a certificate showing GL, and often comp, before the first job.
3. Auto services and dealers: 390 new permits, 64% scored 70+. Garage liability and garagekeepers are the usual starting points.
4. Trucking: 82 new permits, all scored 70+. A new USDOT registration matched to the business is flagged and raises its score.

How to work Texas leads

• Call the right trades first. Permits arrive about weekly, so your edge is choosing the right trades, not calling within hours.
• Check the permit date and the new-location flag before you call.
• Lead with the comp decision for any business likely to have employees.
• Research the business first, keep outreach short, and honor opt-outs.

For the full process and a wider look at lead sources, see how commercial insurance agents find new business leads. For the current Texas numbers, see the Texas leads page.

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