Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Residents Assess Damage After Night of Tornadoes in Central U.S.
May 18 2017 // Residents of an Oklahoma subdivision and a Wisconsin trailer park that were leveled by deadly tornadoes sifted through what remained of their homes and possessions Wednesday, even as forecasters warned of another round of...
Bill Setting Statewide Rules for Ridesharing Companies Passes Texas Senate
May 18 2017 // A bill that would preempt local regulations for ridesharing companies in Texas and replace them statewide standards has passed the Texas Senate. It now heads to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature. HB 100,...
Injured Worker Attorney Involvement Varies Widely by State
May 18 2017 // There is a wide variation in the percentage of claims with worker attorneys involvement across state workers’ compensation systems, according to the latest research from the Workers Compensation Research Institute...
Texas ‘Hailstorm’ Litigation Bill Headed to Governor’s Desk
May 17 2017 // Legislation backed by the insurance industry and some Texas business groups that curtails the ability of policyholders to sue insurance companies over property claims following extreme weather events has passed the state...
Texas Wholesale Insurance Broker LevelFirst Promotes Innocent to VP
May 17 2017 // LevelFirst, the Dallas-based wholesale broker and MGA binding facility owned by IIAT Services Co., has promoted Kate Innocent to vice president. The promotion coincides with Innocent receiving a life/health insurance...
Texas Senate Committee Again Looks at Texting Ban
May 16 2017 // Another bill that would ban texting and driving has been taken up by the Senate State Affairs committee. The committee approved the Senate version, SB 31 by Laredo Sen. Judith Zaffirini in March, but the measure never made...
Travis Named VP at Texas Wholesale Broker LevelFirst
May 16 2017 // LevelFirst, the Dallas-based wholesale broker and MGA binding facility owned by IIAT Services Co., has appointed Mary Travis as vice president. Travis is based in Houston. She will service new and existing clients in the...
Surplus Lines Could Meet Your Insured’s Flood Coverage Needs
May 15 2017 // The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been the topic of much debate in recent years, especially with the program set to expire on September 30. The NFIP is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency...
People – South Central
May 15 2017 // Workers’ compensation insurer, Texas Mutual Insurance Co., named Jeremiah Bentley as vice president of marketing and customer engagement. He joined Texas Mutual in 1998 and has served in a variety of roles across the...
Louisiana Worker’ Comp Rates Are Down, but Costs per Claim Growing
May 15 2017 // Workers’ compensation rates decreased statewide in Louisiana on May 1 by 9.8 percent, marking the fourth year in a row rates have dropped in that state, according to insurance regulators. In January, the Louisiana...
Insurance Industry-Backed Storm Damage Bill Passes Texas House
May 15 2017 // The passage in the Texas House of a bill limiting liability for property insurance companies sued by policyholders following weather related events has given the insurance industry, which lobbied strongly for the bill,...
Higginbotham Acquires Part of Hilb Group of Texas
May 12 2017 // Fort Worth, Texas-based insurance agency, Higginbotham, has purchased a portion of the Hilb Group of Texas LLC’s operations in San Antonio. The transaction adds eight insurance and customer service professionals with...
Texas Public Safety Agencies Embracing Drone Use
May 12 2017 // Government use of aerial drones became much easier when the Federal Aviation Administration flipped the switch on new regulations last year. The Austin American-Statesman reports since then, a number of Austin-area public...
Texas’ State National Companies: Revenues Up in Q1 2017
May 11 2017 // State National Companies Inc., a Bedford, Texas-based specialty provider of property/casualty insurance services, reported an 18 percent increase in total revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017. The company...
Insurance Partners of Texas Acquired by Marsh & McLennan Agency
May 8 2017 // Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC (MMA), the middle market agency subsidiary of Marsh, has acquired Insurance Partners of Texas, an Abilene, Texas-based employee benefits consulting firm. Terms of the transaction were not...
Louisiana’s Schilling and Texas’ Shepard Receive Big ‘I’ Awards
May 5 2017 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) honored two agents from South Central states with awards at the annual Big “I” Legislative Conference. Lee Schilling...
Texas House Passes ‘Hailstorm’ Bill Aimed at Weather Damage Lawsuits
May 5 2017 // Note: this story was originally published in the Texas Tribune. The Texas House gave initial passage on May 4 to a bill that would make it harder for property owners to sue insurers over weather-related damage to...
The Nitsche Group’s Lovelace Named Five Star Professional
May 4 2017 // Tracy Lovelace, lead personal lines relationship manager for Giddings, Texas-based The Nitsche Group, has been named a Five Star Home & Auto Insurance Professional for 2017. This is her second consecutive year to be...
Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Texas Insurance Managers
May 3 2017 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Harlingen, Texas-based Texas Insurance Managers Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. With roots tracing back to 1903, Texas Insurance Managers offers commercial and...
Texas Seeks Property Insurers’ Catastrophe Area Premium Data
May 3 2017 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has issued a special data call to companies writing direct commercial property or business owners insurance in Texas during calendar year 2016, seeking information that would help...
