Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Is TWIA’s Progress to Rate Adequacy over?
Aug 26 2016 // It’s no secret that the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has a funding problem. Rates for coastal windstorm insurance offered by the state-created agency long have been well below the actuarially sound...
Sex Toys in Hand, Univ. of Texas Students Rally Against Campus Carry Gun Law
Aug 26 2016 // Hundreds of University of Texas students waved sex toys at a campus rally during the first day of classes, protesting a new state law that allows concealed handguns in college classrooms, buildings and dorms. Organizers...
A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Positive for Texas-Based State National Group
Aug 25 2016 // A.M. Best revised the issuer credit rating (ICR) outlook to positive from stable, and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the ICRs of “a” of State National Insurance Co. Inc. and...
M.J. Kelly Co.-Texas Adds Fonseca as Marketing Representative
Aug 25 2016 // Wholesale broker and managing general agent, M. J. Kelly Company-Texas, has added Vicky Fonseca as marketing representative in Fort Worth. The company also announced the retirement of Robert Grace. Fonseca is an insurance...
Thieves Steal Wheels from 48 New Vehicles at East Texas Car Dealer
Aug 24 2016 // Police are trying to determine who stole the wheels from 48 new vehicles at an East Texas car dealership. Tyler police estimate thieves made off with about $250,000 worth of tires and wheels, leaving the vehicles up on...
Wrong Key Fails to Derail Texas GM Ignition Suit
Aug 24 2016 // General Motors LLC failed to derail a Texas family’s claim for damages over a car crash blamed on a faulty ignition-switch after jurors were shown the wrong car key last week. GM claimed Zachary Stevens’ family...
Texas Doctors Concerned About High Rate of Child Gun Accident Victims
Aug 22 2016 // Dr. David Wesson points to a spot below his belly button. That’s where the .22-caliber bullet pierced the abdomen of the first pediatric gunshot victim he ever treated. The Houston Chronicle reports the boy was 1...
North Dakota Lawmaker: Where’s the Reserve in Workers’ Comp Opt-Out Plans?
Aug 22 2016 // A state representative from North Dakota, who serves on the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Committee at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), says he’s concerned about reserves for paying...
Business-Backed Group Pushes for Workers’ Comp Alternative in Illinois
Aug 22 2016 // An Illinois think tank has published a report expressing support for a workers’ compensation opt-out system in that state, saying that it would give employers the ability to lower costs and allow for a more flexible...
Report: Austin Area Car Insurance Rate Hikes Far Above National 5-Year Average
Aug 22 2016 // A recently released report by Austin, Texas-based car insurance comparison firm, The Zebra, shows that car insurance rate hikes in the Austin area over the past five years have far exceeded the national average. Austin car...
Texas Lawyer Accused of Fraud in BP Oil Spill Case Acquitted in Mississippi
Aug 19 2016 // A prominent Texas lawyer was acquitted on Thursday of charges he made up thousands of fake clients to sue BP Plc for damages that the oil company caused in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, court records show. Mikal Watts was...
Texas Man in Tesla Autopilot Crash Won’t Sue, But Car Insurer May
Aug 19 2016 // A Texas man said the Autopilot mode on his Tesla Model S sent him off the road and into a guardrail, bloodying his nose and shaking his confidence in the technology. He doesn’t plan to sue the electric-car maker, but...
Tyson Foods Fined $236K for Serious Safety Violations at Texas Plant
Aug 18 2016 // Arkansas-based Tyson Foods Inc. is facing more than $236,000 in penalties after an investigation by federal safety inspectors found the nation’s largest meat and poultry processor endangered workers by exposing them...
Officials Say Texas’ Closed Formulary Is Lowering Workers’ Comp Costs
Aug 17 2016 // A recent analysis by researchers at the Texas Department of Insurance shows that the Texas pharmacy closed formulary is lowering costs and reducing the use of opioids in the workers’ compensation system, the...
Report Questions Texas Regulators’ Handling of Flood-Related Oil ‘Mess’
Aug 16 2016 // Internal emails show Texas energy regulators describing a “mess” of leaking crude oil heading downstream near Houston following heavy storms in May, raising new questions about how the state has handled...
GM Ignition-Switch Lawsuit Dismissed by Texas Judge
Aug 16 2016 // A Texas judge has thrown out a lawsuit against General Motors from a woman who blamed a 2012 car crash on a faulty ignition switch that later prompted the company to recall 2.6 million vehicles. The Aug. 13 order from...
Brightway Insurance Opens New North Texas Office
Aug 15 2016 // Brightway Insurance announced that agency owner Peter Linke has opened the company’s newest office in North Texas, Brightway Preston Trail. The agency is located at 17194 Preston Road, Suite 210, at the corner of...
Report: Austin Area Car Insurance Rate Hikes Far Above National 5-Year Average
Aug 12 2016 // A recently released report by Austin, Texas-based car insurance comparison firm, The Zebra, shows that car insurance rate hikes in the Austin area over the past five years have far exceeded the national average. Austin car...
North Dakota Lawmaker Questions Reserves in Workers’ Comp Opt-Out Plans
Aug 11 2016 // A state representative from North Dakota, who serves on the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Committee at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), says he’s concerned about reserves for paying...
5 Reappointed to Texas FAIR Plan Governing Board
Aug 10 2016 // Texas Commissioner of Insurance David Mattax has reappointed five members to serve on the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan Governing Committee. The FAIR Plan provides residential property insurance in...
