Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
NTSB Faults Parade Plans in Fatal Texas Train Collision
Nov 11 2013 // The lack of safety planning by parade organizers and the city of Midland, Texas, has been faulted by federal investigators in an accident in November 2012 in which a freight train rammed a tractor-trailer truck towing a...
Austin Homeowner’s Interest in Flood Insurance Rises
Nov 8 2013 // Insurance agents in Austin, Texas report the interest in homeowners obtaining flood insurance coverage has risen dramatically after two recent rains that have flooded portions of Austin and neighboring communities. Roughly...
Small Business Insurance Provider AssureStart to Launch in Texas
Nov 8 2013 // Madison, Wis.-based American Family Insurance is partnering with Seattle-based start-up, AssureStart, to sell small business insurance online to Texas businesses beginning in mid-November. After launching in Texas,...
Texas Brine Sued by Liberty Insurance over Louisiana Sinkhole
Nov 7 2013 // One of the insurers for Texas Brine Co. has filed a lawsuit accusing Texas Brine of ignoring warnings about the potential for disaster if it continued mining an Assumption Parish, La., salt dome cavern. The suit arises...
Nationwide Insurance Recruiting New Agents in Texas
Nov 7 2013 // Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Insurance announced that the company is looking to add 100 new Advantage Program insurance agents in the Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio, Texas markets. Nationwide Insurance...
Marsh & McLennan Agency Acquires Texas’ Elsey & Associates
Nov 6 2013 // Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC (MMA), a subsidiary of insurance broker Marsh Inc., announced the acquisition of Elsey & Associates, a $4.5 million revenue agency based in Spring, Texas. Terms of the transaction were...
Gerik Elected President of Texas Assoc. of Fire/Casualty Insurance Cos.
Nov 5 2013 // Mike Gerik, executive vice president of the Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Cos., has been elected president of the Association of Fire and Casualty Companies in Texas (AFACT). Gerik, whose term as AFACT president runs for two...
Farmers Insurance, Texas Reach Tentative Deal on Mold Claims
Nov 4 2013 // The state of Texas and Farmers Insurance want to settle decade-old claims of overcharging and underserving customers for $117.5 million, which would be one of the largest insurance settlements in state history but less...
INSURICA Adds Winans as Associate Director of Sales Development
Nov 4 2013 // Oklahoma City-based INSURICA Insurance Management Network has hired David Winans as associate director of sales development in the firm’s Plano, Texas, office. A 21-year veteran of the insurance industry, Winans...
BP Oil Spill Settlement Opponents Ask Court to Rescind Approval
Nov 4 2013 // Opponents of BP Plc’s $9.2 billion partial settlement of private-party claims from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill are set to ask a U.S. appeals court to reverse a judge’s approval of the agreement. The...
Texas Senator: How Can We Lower Homeowner Insurance Costs?
Nov 4 2013 // A Texas lawmaker has asked the state insurance department to find ways to lower homeowners insurance rates. Texas has consistently been ranked, along with Florida and Louisiana, one of the three states with the highest...
Billions in Flood Insurance Liability at Stake from Central Texas Storms
Nov 1 2013 // Central Texas is mopping up after strong storms dumped more than a foot of rain in some areas and many homeowners likely will be hoping they have flood insurance in place to cover the damage. The National Weather Service...
Texas Mutual Pays $651K Dividend to CompGroup AGC
Oct 31 2013 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced that the CompGroup AGC has earned a $651,166 workers’ compensation dividend. The dividend is based largely on group members’ collective workplace safety record. Qualifying...
Flooding in Central, Southeast Texas Prompts Evacuations
Oct 31 2013 // A flash flood watch remains in effect for Central Texas counties today after torrential rains – up to 14 inches reported in some areas – flooded hundreds of homes overnight. Especially hard hit were southern...
Ex-Texas Chemical Firm Exec Gets Prison for Worker Death
Oct 30 2013 // A federal judge has sentenced the former president of a Port Arthur, Texas, chemical company to one year in prison for occupational safety crimes that led to an employee’s death. Matthew Lawrence Bowman is the former...
Texas Holds Oct. 30 Hearing on Windstorm Liability Limit Increases
Oct 29 2013 // The Texas Department of Insurance will hold a hearing on Oct. 30 to consider a petition by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association to raise the maximum limits of liability for windstorm and hail insurance policies...
Texas DPS Touts Success of Border Crime, Vehicle Safety Initiative
Oct 25 2013 // The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced that a multi-agency law enforcement initiative, dubbed Operation Strong Safety, that targeted crime, unsafe commercial vehicles and unsafe driving practices has been...
New Website Updates Texas Drought, Conditions
Oct 25 2013 // People concerned about the lingering Texas drought have another tool to track water resources. The Texas Water Development Board has announced a new drought website. Officials say the site, unveiled Oct. 23, brings...
Central Texas Hospital System Says Computer Stolen
Oct 25 2013 // A Central Texas medical group has notified Austin police about the theft of a laptop computer with personal data from patients. Officials with Seton Healthcare Family on Oct. 22 announced the theft and its commitment to...
Old Arson Cases in Texas Being Reviewed by New Panel
Oct 23 2013 // A new review by the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office of old arson cases that might have relied on bad science has so far discovered three questionable convictions. But the effort has also drawn criticism from a West...
