Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Abused Disabled Iowa Plant Workers Awarded $240M
May 2 2013 // A Texas company has been ordered to pay $240 million in damages to 32 mentally disabled workers who formerly worked at the company’s turkey processing plant in Iowa for what government lawyers described as decades of...
Homeowners not the Only Line of Coverage Affected by Texas Weather
May 2 2013 // It’s well known that Texas has some of the highest homeowners premiums in the nation — in large part due to the state’s vulnerability to violent weather. It may be less known that Texas has some of the...
Authorities Aim to Finish Texas Blast Probe by May 10
May 2 2013 // An investigation should be finished within the next two weeks into what caused a massive explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed 14 people, state authorities said. Texas State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy told...
20 Texas Students Receive Insurance Education Scholarships
May 2 2013 // Twenty insurance and risk management students at five Texas universities were recently awarded a total of $23,000 in academic scholarships from the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) Education Foundation. The students attend...
Senate Panel to Investigate Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion
May 1 2013 // U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer said on Tuesday she plans to investigate the explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant earlier this month that killed 15 people and injured scores more. California’s Boxer, the head of the...
Texas Chiropractic Clinic Owner Convicted of $3M Auto Insurance Fraud
Apr 30 2013 // The owner of a now defunct chiropractic clinic in Bryan has pleaded guilty to engaging in a conspiracy to defraud various automobile insurance companies of more than $3 million, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said. Marion...
Texas AG: Same-Sex Marriage Benefits Unconstitutional for Public Entities
Apr 30 2013 // Local governments and school districts that offer marriage benefits to same-sex partners are violating the state constitution, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott stated in an opinion on April 29. The cities of Austin, El...
Texas Man Arrested, Charged in $3.5M Staged Accident Fraud Scheme
Apr 30 2013 // A Duncanville, Texas, man faces federal charges in an alleged multi-million dollar staged accident fraud scheme. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas reported that Leroy Nelson was arrested...
Inquiry Into Texas Blast Plagued by Regulatory Gap
Apr 30 2013 // Federal and state officials investigating the April 17 deadly blast at a Central Texas fertilizer company are trying to determine whether a fire at the plant could have ignited a supply of ammonium nitrate. But how much of...
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...
