Texas Car Insurance

Texas' minimum requirements for car liability insurance are about average compared with other states and may be adequate if you do not have substantial savings or a home to protect. Otherwise, most experts suggest $100,000 in bodily injury liability coverage ($300,000 per accident) and $100,000 in property damage liability coverage as adequate to protect a family's assets.

Get comprehensive coverage? Hail yes. Texas gets more hailstorms than any other state in the country, and only comprehensive coverage will pay for the damage they do to your car. (Here's what you need to know about hail damage claims.)

Fines, fees and surcharges. You'll pay and pay and pay if you rack up moving violations in Texas. First, you'll have to pay the fine for the violation itself. Then, if your driving record accumulates six points or more, you'll have to pay an annual fee of at least $100. (The surcharge for drunken driving can reach $2,500 a year for three years.) And that doesn't even count what your insurance company will do to your rates.

Moving violations stay on your Texas motor vehicle record five years.

Bring your insurance card: You must provide valid proof of insurance (or another accepted form of financial responsibility) to the county assessor-collector when registering a motor vehicle in Texas.

Mandatory discount: Texas requires a 5 percent discount when the principal driver on a policy completes a drug and alcohol awareness training class.

Brain buckets: Texas' mandatory motorcycle helmet law was repealed in 1997, but exceptions remain for riders under 21 or those who lack health insurance.