Latest Texas Headlines

All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Linhardt Named Regions Insurance’s State Exec for Arkansas, Texas

Sep 18 2017 // Regions Insurance, an affiliate of Regions Bank, has hired David Linhardt as state executive for Arkansas and Texas. As state executive, Linhardt will oversee Regions Insurance operations in the Little Rock, Fayetteville...

Some Insurance Adjusters Camping Out in Texas after Harvey

Sep 18 2017 // To process tens of thousands of auto and property claims with losses already well into the billions of dollars, insurance companies have adjusters camping out across Texas. The Houston Chronicle reports in one case, the...

Hey Congress, Hurricanes and Health Care Have a Lot in Common: Bloomberg View

Sep 18 2017 // As Congress continues to struggle with health insurance reform, members should be ruminating on the scenes of “recovery” beaming in from East Texas and Florida, where the majority of households — many now...

Firms Hit by Harvey, Irma Hope Business Interruption Coverage Pays Off

Sep 18 2017 // Business owners who are trying to get back on track after hurricanes Harvey and Irma now face a different sort of challenge: trying to recoup lost income from their insurers. Exclusions in the fine print of policies, along...

People

Sep 18 2017 // Dallas-based insurance and risk management firm Dexter & Company has added Jeff Twitty to its team as senior vice president and promoted Stephen Bivins to vice president. A seasoned insurance professional with more...

Mixed Messages Sent Over Texas’s New Cat Claims Statute

Sep 18 2017 // Ambiguity surrounding a Texas law that went into effect on Sept. 1 had insurance industry representatives and attorneys who represent insurance policyholders issuing conflicting messages to insureds who may have suffered...

6 Tips to Consider in a Post-Harvey and Irma Homebuilding Market

Sep 18 2017 // The images of familiar places underwater in South Texas and Floria haunt us. The spirit of volunteers risking their lives to help strangers emboldens us. But those in the home building insurance industry naturally start to...

ICT Pegs Hurricane Harvey Insured Losses at $19B

Sep 15 2017 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) has placed the insured losses from Hurricane Harvey at $19 billion. That number includes an estimated $11 billion in flood losses insured by the National Flood Insurance...

Number Drops but Texas Still Has Highest Rate for People Without Health Insurance

Sep 13 2017 // The number of people without health insurance in Texas continues to decline, but the state still has more residents without coverage than anywhere in the nation. U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday shows Texas’...

Texas AG Sues 3 Businesses for Price Gouging During Hurricane Harvey

Sep 13 2017 // Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against three Texas businesses, accusing them of unlawful price gouging while consumers were in need of fuel, shelter and other essentials as a result of Hurricane...

Waiting Period Suspended for Harvey-Related Claim Payouts for Totaled Vehicles

Sep 13 2017 // Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has suspended a state statute in ordered to help facilitate the payment of insurance claims for vehicles that were totaled by Hurricane Harvey, the governor’s office said. Abbott temporarily...

Texas Mutual Creates $10M Fund for Policyholders Affected by Hurricane Harvey

Sep 13 2017 // Workers’ compensation insurance provider Texas Mutual Insurance Co. has established a grant of $10 million to policyholders affected by Hurricane Harvey. The grant program is intended to support the recovery of...

U.S. Investigating Arkema’s Safety Practices After Texas Fires

Sep 13 2017 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is investigating whether chemical maker Arkema SA followed safety rules at its Crosby, Texas, plant where chemical containers exploded and burned for days after flooding from...

U.S. Flood Insurance Program Expects $11B in Texas Flood Payouts

Sep 13 2017 // U.S. officials estimate the FEMA-run National Flood Insurance Program will make $11 billion in payments for flooding in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey, the program’s administrator Roy Wright said. Additionally, in...

Texas GOP Leaders Push for Expensive, Long-Delayed Flood Infrastructure Projects

Sep 12 2017 // In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is calling for the construction of flood control infrastructure in the Houston area — things he said should have been built “decades and decades...

Martin Joins Myron F. Steves and Co. in San Antonio

Sep 12 2017 // Paul Martin has joined Texas-based independent MGA and wholesaler, Myron F. Steves and Co., as director of Education and Development. He will also oversee the company’s operations in San Antonio. Martin most recently...

Insurers Rush to Find, Deploy Adjusters for Harvey, Irma Claims

Sep 11 2017 // Insurers are scrambling to find inspectors in Texas and Florida after fierce hurricanes battered the states one after the other, causing tens of billions of dollars’ worth of property damage in less than two...

Riley Named Texas Workers’ Comp Deputy Commissioner of Compliance, Investigations

Sep 11 2017 // The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation has hired Timothy P. Riley as the division’s new deputy commissioner of Compliance and Investigations. Riley most recently served as vice president of Special...

Chemical Fallout from Hurricane Irma Could Be Worse than Harvey’s

Sep 8 2017 // Before flames and smoke leaped into the sky over the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, last week, Jolyn Masters was hunkered down at home on a Hurricane Harvey-flooded street a mile away. Then came a knock. A...

Rethinking Freight Flood Risk Management After Hurricane Harvey

Sep 8 2017 // A week before Hurricane Harvey walloped Houston, workers for Union Pacific Corp. began moving rail cars out of the railroad’s Englewood switching yard near downtown and brought in enough generators to fill 70 tractor...