The insurance the Texas plumbing board requires.

Usually not. The board’s minimum is a floor set by statute for all claims in a one-year period, and it exists so a city can verify that a responsible master plumber carries liability coverage before issuing a permit. General contractors and property managers set their own requirements in the insurance exhibit, and they commonly ask for higher per-occurrence and aggregate limits, additional insured status, and waivers. We write the policy for the contracts you sign and issue the board’s certificate from the same policy, so both are satisfied by one set of limits.

The certificate expires on the date the policy expires, and the board’s form says the responsible master plumber must furnish a current certificate immediately upon or before that date and maintain at least the minimum coverage at all times while acting as one. Without a current certificate, the person cannot act as a responsible master plumber, and a city that checks the board’s record before a permit will not issue it. That is why we calendar the policy period and file the new certificate before the old one runs out.

Yes. The board’s form names the State Board of Plumbing Examiners as the certificate holder, and the certificate is filed with the board, not with a city. Cities then verify with the board, by its website or by phone, that the responsible master plumber has a certificate on file. The board’s form also says plainly that the certificate does not amend or extend the policy and that the policy’s terms control, which is the same rule every certificate follows. The endorsement and the policy do the work; the certificate shows it.

Yes. The statute says the policy must provide commercial general liability for a claim for property damage or bodily injury regardless of whether the claim arises from negligence or on a contract. In practice that means the policy should not carry an exclusion that turns away a customer’s claim because it is framed as a breach of the plumbing contract rather than as negligence. We read the form for that before we issue the board’s certificate, because a certificate that overstates the policy is the document a lawyer finds first.

No. The one insurance the board itself requires is the responsible master plumber’s commercial general liability, evidenced by the certificate on file. Workers’ comp is elective for most Texas private employers, and the board does not require it for the license. Auto, tools, and umbrella are market decisions driven by your vans, your gear, and your contracts. Public work and most general contractors do require workers’ comp, so the contract usually decides that question even though the board does not.

Yes, if the insurer is an eligible surplus lines insurer, which the statute allows alongside insurers authorized to engage in the business of insurance in Texas. That matters for plumbing shops the admitted market will not write at a given moment, because the board’s requirement can still be met. The rest of the rule is unchanged: the policy must cover property damage and bodily injury, negligence or contract, at not less than the statutory minimum for all claims in a one-year period, and the certificate must name the board.