Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Retired Engineer Questions Plans to Relieve Houston-Area Bayou Flooding
Apr 27 2018 // Hurricane Harvey’s epic rain in August 2017 convinced many residents and elected officials in Southeast Texas that the drastic flooding required drastic drainage solutions. The Galveston County Daily News reports one...
Texas-Based Goosehead Insurance Going Public With IPO
Apr 27 2018 // A North Texas-based insurance agency that operates nationally via a franchise model will begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange when its expected initial public offering (IPO) goes through on April 27. Goosehead Insurance,...
Valero Refinery Fire in Texas Released Air Contaminants, Report Finds
Apr 26 2018 // A report found that a recent explosion and fire at a refinery along Texas’ Gulf Coast released four types of unauthorized contaminants into the air. The Daily News reports that Valero Energy estimates its Texas City...
Texas Attorney Gets 10-Year Sentence for Role in $26M Work Comp Fraud
Apr 25 2018 // An attorney in Grand Prairie, Texas, has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $26,572,458.93 in restitution for his role in a workers’ compensation fraud scheme. Federal prosecutors say...
Texas Windstorm Policy Assumption Program to Begin Soon
Apr 24 2018 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association will soon begin its annual program designed to move policies out of the residual market for wind and hail along the Texas coast. This will be the third round for the Assumption...
Why Coastal Living Is Becoming Affordable for Only the Rich
Apr 24 2018 // When Hurricane Irma reached Florida’s Big Pine Key in September, it caused the floor of Terry and Sharon Baron’s cream-colored mobile home to collapse. On Marathon Key, twenty miles north, the winds lifted...
Deadlines for Texas Windstorm Insurer Appraisal Demands Extended
Apr 19 2018 // The deadlines for a Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) claimant to demand appraisal of a claim for damages caused by Hurricane Harvey have been extended, the Texas Department of Insurance reports. An extension of...
Dean & Draper Acquires Houston’s Texas Printers Insurance
Apr 19 2018 // Dean & Draper Insurance Agency LP has acquired Houston-based Texas Printers Insurance Agency (TPIA). TPIA specializes in risk management and property/casualty insurance. The agency also offers employee benefits for...
InfoWars Host Jones Faces Defamation Suit by Sandy Hook Victims’ Families
Apr 18 2018 // The parents of two children killed at Sandy Hook elementary school in 2012 sued Alex Jones, the host of InfoWars, who had derided the shooting as fake and possibly staged by the government. Leonard Pozner and Veronique De...
Still No Arrest 5 Years After Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion
Apr 17 2018 // April 17 marked the fifth anniversary of the fertilizer plant explosion that claimed 15 lives in the town of West, Texas. Despite a lengthy investigation by state and federal officials, no one has been arrested and charged...
IICF Southeast Division Awards $473K in Grants to Nonprofits in Texas, Region
Apr 17 2018 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) Southeast Division has awarded $473,000 in community grants to 24 nonprofit organizations that champion the causes of children at risk, education and military...
Dozens of Wildfires Burn Hundreds of Square Miles in Oklahoma, Texas
Apr 16 2018 // Strong winds are fueling more than two dozen wildfires burning across Oklahoma and Texas. Authorities say one blaze in western Oklahoma is estimated to be nearly 40 miles across at its widest point. Oklahoma Forestry...
Texas Landscaper to Pay $400K in Workers’ Comp Fraud Case
Apr 16 2018 // A Pflugerville, Texas, landscape company pleaded guilty March 21 to misrepresenting its payroll so it could pay less for workers’ compensation coverage, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. Jammers...
Texas County to Urge Flood Insurance Purchase via Billboards
Apr 13 2018 // Houston-area officials are planning a campaign to put up two dozen billboards encouraging residents to buy flood insurance after Hurricane Harvey. The Harris County Flood Control District estimates more than 80 percent of...
Houston-Area Officials Say They Didn’t Know About Reservoir Flood Risks Pre-Harvey
Apr 13 2018 // Houston-area officials said during a congressional hearing that they weren’t aware of forecasts by federal authorities regarding flooding risks from local reservoirs that ended up inundating thousands of homes during...
Texas Developers’ Use of Fill for Flood Resilience Scrutinized Post-Harvey
Apr 11 2018 // Texas home developers’ practice of using dirt to raise homes above a flood plain is drawing increased scrutiny as experts question flood resilience measures after Hurricane Harvey. Some experts argued using dirt, or...
Texas Workers’ Comp Commissioner to Leave Post May 1
Apr 9 2018 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced that Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Ryan Brannan will leave his position effective May 1. Brannan was appointed to lead the Texas Department of Insurance’s,...
Texas Surplus Lines Stamping Office Adds 3 New Board Members
Apr 9 2018 // The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) has appointed three new members to its board of directors. Rosemarie Marshall serves as executive vice president for AmWINS Group in Dallas, Texas, where she manages the...
Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas Facing Dual Threats: Tornadoes, Wildfires
Apr 9 2018 // Emergency officials in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas are bracing for two types of disasters as spring gets into full swing: The start of what’s historically the most active time of year for tornadoes plus wildfire...
Koncaba Appointed to Texas Mutual Board; Swanson Reappointed
Apr 6 2018 // Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed Kristi Koncaba, president and chief operating officer at Texan Bank, to the board of directors for workers’ compensation insurer, Texas Mutual Insurance Co. Koncaba has 15 years...
