Working out of Cotulla: what does La Salle County change about my insurance?

Cotulla is the county seat and largest town in La Salle County. It sits where Interstate 35 meets State Highway 97.

For oil and gas, La Salle is RRC District 1, served from the Railroad Commission office in San Antonio. It is on the RRC's list of 27 Eagle Ford counties. The county's first producing well was drilled in 1940.

For state roads, though, La Salle is in TxDOT's Laredo district, with Webb, Dimmit, Zavala, Maverick and others. Neighboring McMullen and Frio are in TxDOT's San Antonio district.

This split is mostly a paperwork point, but it shows up when a road, permit or incident question touches both agencies.

Interstate 35 runs through Cotulla, and State Highway 97 crosses it there. Lease traffic moves between those highways, farm roads and ranch roads.

In an April 2012 presentation on energy sector impacts, TxDOT listed immediate Category 1 expenditures by district. The Laredo and Corpus Christi districts each had about $10.4 million, the two largest amounts on the list.

For your auto program, that means:

• Interstate exposure. Highway speeds and mixed traffic raise severity. Operators commonly ask for $1,000,000 auto plus umbrella, and the umbrella should list auto as underlying.
• Permits. TxDMV oversize and overweight permits, including annual fracking trailer and rig-up truck permits, should match the units on your policy.
• Crew transport. If you bring hands in from Laredo or San Antonio in personal vehicles, you have hired and non-owned auto exposure.

See oilfield auto insurance and MCS-90 and oilfield umbrella insurance.

Cattle ranching has been the main economic activity in La Salle County since the late 1800s. The Nueces River crosses most of the county from west to southeast, and the Frio River drains the northeastern quarter.

That shapes the claims Cotulla contractors see:

• Gates and livestock. A gate left open and cattle on the road is a third-party liability claim.
• Fences and culverts. A loaded truck that takes out a fence or crushes a culvert creates property damage to the landowner, usually under auto liability if the truck caused it.
• Low-water crossings. Equipment caught in a crossing after rain is a floater claim, and possibly a pollution question if it was carrying fluids.

Your GL covers third-party property damage, but it excludes property in your care, custody or control. If the MSA makes you responsible for the lease road or pad itself, that is a different question. See care, custody and control.

FEMA declared a major disaster for Texas severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding (DR-4935) with an incident period of July 12 to August 4, 2026, declared September 1, 2026. La Salle County is a designated area for public assistance. It was also in the related Texas Flooding emergency declaration (EM-3649).

La Salle County also appears in FEMA wildfire declarations, including the 2011 wildfire disaster (DR-4029) and a 2008 fire management declaration.

For a contractor with equipment spread across ranch leases:

• Confirm your equipment floater covers flood and fire at job sites, not just at your yard.
• Schedule high-value units, and check the per-item limit on unscheduled tools.
• Carry comprehensive on vehicles that sit on location or in a yard.

See oilfield equipment insurance.

Send the insurance and indemnity sections of your MSA, your current certificates, your equipment list with values, and any compliance platform rejection notice. Tell us whether your trucks run I-35 to Laredo or San Antonio, and whether you haul fluids.

All La Salle County work is Texas work, so Chapter 127 governs the indemnity. We check whether the limits you agreed to carry match what you have. Your attorney reviews the contract, and a licensed insurance specialist goes through the gaps with you.