Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Issuer Credit Rating of Texas Mutual Insurance Upgraded by A.M. Best
Nov 29 2018 // A.M. Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) of Texas Mutual Insurance Company (Texas...
Credit Ratings of Texas Hospital Insurance Exchange Upgraded
Nov 28 2018 // A.M. Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to B++ (Good) from B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb” from “bbb-” of Texas Hospital Insurance...
Texas Mutual Grants $100K to Houston Construction Trade Training Center
Nov 28 2018 // Workers’ compensation carrier Texas Mutual Insurance Co. has awarded a $100,000 grant to the nonprofit Construction Career Collaborative (C3) to strengthen the skilled craft workforce in the Greater Houston...
Kentucky Woman Sues Texas Roadhouse Chain Over Breastfeeding
Nov 28 2018 // A Kentucky woman who says a Texas Roadhouse employee told her to cover up while she was breastfeeding is suing the restaurant chain for emotional distress. Sadie Durbin is quoted by news outlets as saying the employee...
Managing Natural Disasters Becomes Priority for Nation’s Governors
Nov 28 2018 // Governors have a wide range of priorities they want to tackle in the coming year, from tax reform to education. Yet it’s a topic that receives less attention on the campaign trail and in their speeches that could...
Report: Hurricane Harvey Was a Sign of Things to Come, Climate-Wise
Nov 27 2018 // Texas should brace for more — and worse — Hurricane Harveys, according to a major scientific report made public on Nov. 23 by the Trump administration. Based on the research of hundreds of government and academic...
Texas’ Murex Petroleum to Pay $50K to Settle Race Harassment Suit
Nov 26 2018 // A Texas-based oil and gas company will pay $50,000 to settle a racial harassment lawsuit involving a black employee in North Dakota. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the settlement Wednesday with...
Texas Food Manufacturer Recalls Pork Rolls in Listeria Outbreak
Nov 26 2018 // Authorities have traced a multi-state listeria outbreak which has hospitalized four people to a Houston-based Vietnamese food manufacturer. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Long Phung Food Products issued a recall...
Beach Town Developers Now Believe in Stronger Building Codes, Construction
Nov 21 2018 // Developer Jeff Lamkin knew the risks when he paid $250 million for 63 acres of an island off the Texas coast. But he saw only upside in the quaint little beach town of Port Aransas. Over the next 10 years he built Cinnamon...
Texas Surplus Lines Stamping Office Launching ‘SMART’ Online Filing System in 2019
Nov 20 2018 // The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) plans to launch “SMART,” its new online filing system in 2019. SLTX unveiled the new online system in a video presentation at the Texas Surplus Lines...
Texas Woman Sentenced for ‘Double Dipping’ on Workers’ Comp
Nov 20 2018 // A New Braunfels, Texas, woman must perform community service and pay more than $7,000 in restitution after being sentenced on workers’ compensation fraud charges. Texas Mutual Insurance Co. reported that Carolina...
Reliance Partners Opens Austin Office, Names Richards Chief Sales Officer
Nov 20 2018 // Reliance Partners, which specializes in commercial insurance, has added Brandon Richards as chief sales officer and opened a new office in Austin, Texas. Richards is a veteran insurance professional with more than 17 years...
Texas Sunset Commission States the Obvious: TWIA Is Financially Unsustainable
Nov 19 2018 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), the state-created residual market that provides windstorm insurance policies in 14 designated coastal counties, suffers from “fundamental flaws” in the...
Texas’ Hochheim Mutual Insurers Removed From Credit Watch Negative
Nov 19 2018 // S&P Global Ratings has removed Texas-based Hochheim Prairie Farm Mutual Insurance Assn. (HPFMIA) and its subsidiary, Hochheim Prairie Casualty Insurance Co. (HPCIC, collectively Hochheim) from Credit Watch Negative,...
Leicht Elected President of Texas Surplus Lines Association
Nov 16 2018 // At its recent annual meeting, the Texas Surplus Lines Association Inc. elected Matt Leicht, owner/underwriter at the Houston-based wholesale insurance firm, Craig & Leicht, as the group’s president. Jennifer...
Nearly 3.5 Tons of Chicken Salad Recalled by Houston Company
Nov 16 2018 // A Houston company has recalled nearly 3.5 tons (2.72 metric tons) of ready-to-eat chicken salad that regulators say may be contaminated with listeria. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Nov. 14 announced the recall by...
Gas Leak Blamed for Deadly Texas Hospital Blast
Nov 15 2018 // Investigators say an explosion that killed three people and injured 13 others at a Texas hospital this year was caused by natural gas that leaked into a boiler room and an adjacent mechanical room. The Waco Tribune-Herald...
Researchers Raise Concerns About Texas Coastal Barrier Plan
Nov 14 2018 // Rice University researchers are concerned about the Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas General Land Office’s preferred $31 billion proposal to protect the Houston-Galveston region from devastating storm surge. A...
Texas Automobile Insurance Plan to Raise Rates in 2019
Nov 14 2018 // Rates will increase next year for both personal and commercial auto insurance provided by the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA). Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan on Nov. 9 issued an order...
Early Bills Filed for 2019 in Texas Include Insurance-Related Measures
Nov 13 2018 // Lawmakers have begun filing bills in the Texas Legislature for the legislative session that begins in January 2019. Among the bills filed so far that relate to property/casualty insurance include: HB 259: Relating to named...
