Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Business Moves
Jul 7 2014 // Arthur J. Gallagher, The Plus Cos., Tri-State General Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired The Plus Cos. Inc. (TPC) in Bridgewater, N.J. Terms were not disclosed. Established in 1985, TPC is a managing general agent...
Higginbotham Acquires Share of Willis of Texas Inc.’s Operations
Jul 3 2014 // Higginbotham has purchased a portion of Willis of Texas Inc.’s operations. The transaction includes Willis of Texas’ operations in San Antonio, McAllen, Victoria and Tyler. Combined, they add 35 employees and...
Beacon Hill’s South Central Texas Office Moves
Jul 2 2014 // Beacon Hill Associates Inc.’s South Central office has moved to Houston, Texas. The centrally located Houston office at 20333 State Highway 249, Suite 315 allows better access to the firm’s group of agency...
Texas Engineering Board to Review Flawed High School Stadium
Jun 30 2014 // The Texas Board of Professional Engineers is investigating whether laws or rules regarding professional practices were broken over flaws that closed a $60 million high school football stadium. The state’s engineering...
Floor Collapses at Texas Home, 36 Taken to Hospitals
Jun 30 2014 // A floor collapsed under a large crowd of people gathered for a religious event at a suburban Houston home, sending three dozen people to hospitals, though most suffered minor injuries, authorities said. The collapse...
Surge in Oklahoma Quakes Has Residents Seeking Answers
Jun 27 2014 // Oklahoma residents whose homes and nerves have been shaken by an upsurge in earthquakes want to know what’s causing the temblors — and what can be done to stop them. Hundreds of people were expected to turn out in...
The Political Battle Over Export-Import Bank
Jun 27 2014 // A day before U.S. House Republicans were to vote on a new majority leader, lawmakers aligned with the limited-government Tea Party movement delivered a message to the leading candidate, Kevin McCarthy of California. They...
As America Overall Ages with Boomers, Energy States See Youth Boom
Jun 26 2014 // Seven states, including five in the Great Plains, saw their median age decline between 2012 and 2013, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. At the same time, the median age for the U.S. as a whole ticked up from 37.5...
262 People Hurt in Last Year’s Fertilizer Blast in West, Texas: Report
Jun 26 2014 // A health report on the impact of the West fertilizer plant explosion says 262 people were injured in the blast. That’s in addition to the 15 people killed by the April 17, 2013, explosion. The report was released...
Safety Is Paramount for Texas Mutual CEO Gergasko
Jun 25 2014 // Richard Gergasko Richard Gergasko, CEO of workers’ compensation insurer, Texas Mutual Insurance Co., describes himself as an insurance geek. Trained as an actuary, he’s been involved in the insurance business...
Central Texas Derailment Caused Chemical Leak
Jun 24 2014 // Eight Union Pacific cars overturned in Central Texas and at least one tanker leaked a hazardous chemical used in natural gas processing. The Grimes County Sheriff’s Office says nobody was hurt in the June 23...
Texas Lumber Company Faces $125K in Fines for Safety Violations
Jun 20 2014 // Federal safety regulators have cited a Texas sawmill for failure-to-abate previous safety violations and continuing to expose workers still to serious hazards. More than $125,000in fines are proposed for Gillespie Lumber...
Texas Man Sentenced, Another Pleads Guilty in Machinery Theft Scheme
Jun 20 2014 // United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley in Louisiana announced that one Texas man has been sentenced and another has pleaded guilty in a scheme to steal tractors and other large equipment and sell the items in...
Texas Property/Casualty Symposium to Focus on Insurance Industry Changes
Jun 19 2014 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) will host its 22nd Annual Mid-Year Property & Casualty Symposium in Austin on July 17. Speakers include industry leaders from the Insurance Information Institute (III), the...
Top Loss Leaders in the Oil Patch? Commercial Auto, Workers’ Comp
Jun 18 2014 // There’s no doubt that new advancements in the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are driving the current production boom in the oil patch. The technique, which is used to retrieve oil and gas reservoirs...
Texas Cliff-Hanging House Set on Fire
Jun 17 2014 // Charred debris from a luxury cliff-side home in Texas fell 75 feet into a lake below after fire crews set the $700,000 retreat ablaze rather than wait for it to crumble into the water as the land faltered around it. It...
Insurance Capacity for Oil & Gas Is Plentiful but Contract Wording May Be Tricky
Jun 16 2014 // The insurance capacity is there to cover the risks associated with the current oil and gas boom in Texas and the nation, experts say, but agents and their customers should be vigilant in their efforts to understand the...
All in the Family: Father and Daughter Honored by Texas Agents
Jun 16 2014 // A father/daughter team of insurance professionals recently were awarded two of the highest honors bestowed upon independent agents in Texas at the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas annual conference and trade show in...
Tornado Confirmed in Central Texas
Jun 16 2014 // Severe weather late on June 12 spawned a Central Texas tornado that damaged several homes and floodwaters that washed away a car and left its driver missing. The National Weather Service says a tornado packing winds of up...
TWIA Financials Improved as Hurricane Season Starts
Jun 16 2014 // Low catastrophe activity and claims experience so far this year have helped to put Texas’ insurer of last resort for properties along the Gulf Coast in a better position to face the 2014 hurricane season than it has...
