Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Lawsuits from Texas Fertilizer Plant Blast now Total 6
Apr 29 2013 // The deadly Central Texas fertilizer facility explosion has now spawned six lawsuits, including one from the family of a volunteer firefighter killed in the blast. Fourteen people died and more than 200 were injured by the...
2 Judges Consider State Farm Rates in Texas
Apr 26 2013 // The state’s consumer advocate has challenged State Farm Insurance Co.’s 20 percent rate hike for Texas homeowners as being too high. Public Insurance Counsel Deeia Beck on April 24 urged two administrative law...
Agents Group Puts Out Call to Help West, Texas
Apr 25 2013 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas is calling for contributions to a fund created to help in the rebuilding of West, Texas, the site of the deadly explosion at a fertilizer facility on April 17. Tommy Muska, mayor...
West Explosion Insured Losses Hit $100M
Apr 24 2013 // “Daddy, are we dead?” Those were the first words from 9-year-old Kaden Anderson after an explosion ripped apart the fertilizer plant in West on April 17. Kaden was riding with his father Bryan who had driven...
Travelers Q1 Profit Up 11% to $896M; CEO Says ‘We Will Keep Going’ on Rate Hikes
Apr 24 2013 // The Travelers Companies Inc. on Tuesday reported $896 million net income for its 2013 first quarter, an increase of 11 percent compared to $806 million income reported during the first quarter of 2012. Travelers said the...
Report: Bus Driver in Fatal Texas Crash Says He May Have Blacked Out
Apr 24 2013 // The driver involved in a fatal North Texas bus crash told authorities he may have blacked out in the moments before the bus careened off the roadway and struck a concrete barrier, according to a report released April 22. A...
Texas Governor: State Oversight Not to Blame for West Blast
Apr 24 2013 // Gov. Rick Perry said that spending more state money on inspections would not have prevented the deadly explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. plant that was last investigated by Texas environmental regulators in 2006. Perry...
What Young Agents Say About Their Career Choice
Apr 23 2013 // The road to becoming a successful independent insurance agent is not always easy. The economy and often volatile property/casualty insurance market cycle are just two of the potholes agents must maneuver. Young agents in...
Texas-Based Halliburton Posts 1Q Loss on Oil Spill Litigation Charges
Apr 23 2013 // Houston, Texas-based Halliburton says it lost $18 million in the first quarter, pulled down by $637 million in charges related to its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. But it made money if unusual items are...
Safety Rules Limited for Small Fertilizer Plants
Apr 23 2013 // There were no sprinklers. No firewalls. No water deluge systems. Safety inspections were rare at the fertilizer company in West, Texas, that exploded and killed at least 14 people this week. This is not unusual. Small...
Some Residents Allowed Back Home After Texas Blast
Apr 22 2013 // Stranded families growing weary and frustrated since a deadly Texas fertilizer plant explosion left them barricaded from their battered homes finally began returning Saturday, but only under a curfew and strict warnings to...
People – South Central
Apr 22 2013 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced that Joe Yurkovich has accepted the position of senior vice president of strategic planning. He returns to Texas Mutual after serving as region president for the Southern Region at...
Texas Mutual: 3rd Provider Sentenced
Apr 22 2013 // Three family members from Denton, Texas, have been sentenced on workers’ compensation fraud-related charges. Texas Mutual Insurance Co. reported that in mid-April Michael T. Douglas pleaded guilty to charges of...
What Did Regulators Know Before Texas Plant Exploded?
Apr 19 2013 // Despite being located within a short walk of a nursing home, school and residential buildings, West Fertilizer Co. in central Texas had no blast walls and had filed no contingency plan to the Environmental Protection...
Fertilizer Explosion Response Team Includes Texas Insurance Department
Apr 18 2013 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) reports it is working in conjunction with other public agencies in responding to the April 17 fire and explosion at a fertilizer facility in West, Texas, which resulted in...
Texting While Driving Ban Advances in Texas House
Apr 18 2013 // A renewed push to make texting while driving illegal in Texas stayed afloat on April 17, but only after narrowly defeating bipartisan resistance to an outright ban over concerns that ranged from racial profiling to...
PCI: Too Early for Insurance Implications of Deadly Texas Fertilizer Blast
Apr 18 2013 // A fertilizer facility exploded in the small Central Texas town of West on Wednesday night, killing an estimated 15 people, injuring more than 150 and damaging dozens of homes, according to a report in the Austin American...
Texas Mutual to Host AASCIF Annual Conference in Austin
Apr 18 2013 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. will host the American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds (AASCIF) Annual Conference. The 2013 AASCIF Annual Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Austin, Texas, from...
Fire at Exxon Texas Refinery Injures 12
Apr 18 2013 // Twelve contract workers were hurt on Wednesday morning when a fire broke out at a unit undergoing repairs at Exxon Mobil Corp.’s 344,500 barrel per day (bpd) Beaumont, Texas, refinery, a company spokeswoman said. The...
Louisiana Lawmakers Seek Better Oversight of Salt Mines
Apr 16 2013 // Lawmakers in Lousiana are looking to prevent a repeat of the massive Assumption Parish sinkhole that officials say was caused by a collapsed underground salt cavern – and make sure prospective property owners know what...
