Latest Texas Headlines

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

Dodd-Frank, Flood Insurance Foe Hensarling Faces Test on TRIA Renewal

May 22 2014 // When Jeb Hensarling took over the congressional panel that spawned the Dodd-Frank Act, he vowed to roll back the landmark Wall Street law and eliminate government programs that backstop private markets. More than a year...

‘Click It Or Ticket’ Push Begins in Texas

May 20 2014 // No excuses: wear your seat belt. Texas is part of the 13th annual “Click It or Ticket” safety effort to make sure travelers buckle up. The campaign that began Monday and runs through June 1 means law...

Fire Danger High In Much Of Southwest, Including Texas

May 20 2014 // Warm, hot weather and gusty winds are raising the risk of wildfires in the Southwest. Red flag warnings were posted Monday for the Texas Panhandle and southwestern Kansas. The danger is also high in Colorado Springs and...

Marsh & McLennan Agency Acquires Visicor in Texas

May 19 2014 // Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC has acquired Visicor, an employee benefits brokerage and consulting firm based in Friendswood, Texas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. All of Visicor’s leadership and employees...

People – South Central

May 19 2014 // FrankCrum, a national professional employer organization, added Rodney Vaughn as broker manager, responsible for increasing the company’s presence in Texas, and forging relationships with insurance agents and...

People

May 19 2014 // FrankCrum, a national professional employer organization, added Rodney Vaughn as broker manager, responsible for increasing the company’s presence in Texas, and forging relationships with insurance agents and...

The Emerging Hail Risk: What the Hail is Going On?

May 19 2014 // The number of reported claims involving hail damage to residential and commercial roofing products has increased dramatically in the past few years. Some reports place the increase at almost double historical claim...

Texas Panhandle Fire Displacements To Return Home

May 15 2014 // About 2,100 Texas Panhandle residents evacuated for days because of a wildfire are scheduled to return to their homes. Texas A&M Forest Service spokesman Troy Duchneaux (doosh-NOH’) says residents of the Fritch...

‘Degassing’ North Dakota Crude Oil Before Shipping Among Safety Ideas

May 14 2014 // After a spate of fiery derailments, the scramble to make North Dakota’s Bakken crude oil safer when it’s being transported on trains has focused on better tracks, slower speeds, and reinforced railcars that...

75 Homes Destroyed in Texas Panhandle Wildfire

May 13 2014 // Emergency officials say about 75 homes are destroyed and hundreds of people have evacuated the area after a wildfire burned up to 2 square miles in the Texas Panhandle. The Texas Department of Public Safety said in an...

Wildfire Season Starts Early Amid Drought; Costs to Top $1 Billion

May 13 2014 // U.S. states plagued by historic drought are bracing for an early wildfire season with a cost that may rise as high as $1.8 billion, or almost $500,000 more than what’s available to control the blazes. Oklahomans...

Last of Texas A&M Bonfire Collapse Lawsuits Settled

May 12 2014 // The last remaining lawsuit arising from the deadly Texas A&M Bonfire lawsuit collapse has been settled almost 15 years after the collapse. The collapse of the 60-foot stack of more than 6,000 logs early the morning of...

Insured Disaster Losses Higher in Oklahoma Than in Any Other State in 2013

May 12 2014 // May 20, 2014, marks the one-year anniversary of the deadly tornado outbreak in Moore, Oklahoma, which contributed to the state’s designation as the site of the costliest U.S. natural disasters in 2013, according to...

Denton Could Be First City in Texas to Ban Fracking

May 9 2014 // A North Texas city that sits on top of the Barnett Shale, believed to hold one of the largest natural gas reserves in the U.S., could become the first area in the state to permanently ban hydraulic fracturing. A recently...

Texas Regulators Name McWhorter Fraud Unit Employee of the Year

May 8 2014 // Lt. Donald McWhorter is the 2014 Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Fraud Unit Employee of the Year. McWhorter was recognized for his successful career in law enforcement and fraud investigation during the 16th Annual TDI...

Family of Texas ‘Affluenza’ Teen to Pay Victim $2M

May 7 2014 // The family of a North Texas teenager who killed four people and injured 12 in a drunken-driving wreck has reached a settlement of more than $2 million with the family of a teenage boy left disabled. Tarrant County court...

Martin Elected President of Combined Agents of America for 2014-2015

May 6 2014 // Bill Martin has been elected president of the Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA) for 2014 – 2015. Other members of CAA’s newly elected management committee include new Treasurer Pete Bibby, new Second Vice...

Armstrong Appeals to Texas Supreme Court to Halt Insurer Lawsuit

May 5 2014 // Lance Armstrong has asked the Texas Supreme Court to stop a Dallas company from trying to force him to pay back about $12 million in bonuses it paid him for winning the Tour de France. SCA Promotions sued Armstrong last...

Injured Worker Cost per Claim Rises in Texas, Louisiana

May 5 2014 // Payments per claim for the medical care of injured workers in Texas grew nearly 8 percent in 2011, largely the effect of price increases from earlier reforms, according to a 16-state study by the Workers Compensation...

Having Survived Court Challenges, Oklahoma’s Workers’ Comp Redesign Takes Effect

May 5 2014 // The transition of Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system from a court-based system to an administrative one became effective Feb. 1, a change that proponents say will lower costs and help make the state more...