Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Business Moves
Jan 9 2012 // Frost Insurance, Stone Partners Texas-based Frost Insurance acquired Stone Partners Inc., a human resource consulting firm that specializes in compensation, benefits and outsourcing services, effective Jan. 1. Stone...
Higher Homeowners Insurance Rates on the Horizon in Texas
Jan 9 2012 // Two insurers that together hold the lion’s share of the homeowners insurance market in Texas are either in the process of raising rates or have filed for increases. Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman on Dec. 1,...
People
Jan 9 2012 // Southwestern Insurance Information Service elected Lyndell Haigood, regional vice president of State Auto Insurance, as chairman of the board; David Lacefield, executive vice president, National Lloyds Insurance, as vice...
TDECU Insurance Agency Acquires Associated Insurance Advisors
Jan 6 2012 // TDECU Insurance Agency LLC announced the acquisition of Associated Insurance Agency Inc. (AIA) based in Houston, Texas. The purchase was finalized Jan. 3, 2012. Associated Insurance Agency is an independent insurance...
La Nina to Linger to Spring
Jan 5 2012 // La Nina, the weather phenomenon widely blamed for withering drought in the southwestern United States and South America, may last longer than expected, into the Northern Hemisphere spring, the U.S. Climate Prediction...
SEC Sues Texas Life Settlements Firm, Alleges Deception
Jan 5 2012 // Federal securities regulators filed suit against a Texas-based provider of so-called “life settlements,” accusing it and three top executives of defrauding shareholders by overvaluing the life insurance...
Leal, Pekar Join Texas-Based TDECU Insurance Agency
Jan 4 2012 // Vickie Leal and Kathleen Pekar have joined TDECU Insurance Agency LLC in Lake Jackson, Texas, as the agency’s newest licensed agents. Leal is serving the insurance needs of community and credit union members in...
Texas-Based Barhorst Insurance Group Rebrands as Iscential
Dec 30 2011 // Houston-based insurance agency, Barhorst Insurance Group (BIG), announced it is beginning the new year with a new name: Iscential. The rebranding initiative includes a new name, logo and tagline that represent the...
Texas Windpool E-Quote System to Be Disabled Dec. 30 – Jan. 3
Dec 29 2011 // Changes in the billing and commission program at Texas’ insurer of last resort for coastal property will prompt a shut down of the agency’s E-Quote system over the long New Year holiday weekend. Due to the...
Texas Work Comp Discount, Interest Rate Set for Q1 2012
Dec 29 2011 // The workers’ compensation interest and discount rate in Texas for the first quarter of 2012 has been set at 3.61 percent. The rate will be effective beginning Jan. 1, 2012, through Mar. 31, 2012, the Texas Department...
Genstar Capital Acquires Innovative Aftermarket Systems of Texas
Dec 26 2011 // San Francisco-based private equity firm Genstar Capital, LLC said it has acquired Innovative Aftermarket Systems, which underwrites and markets motor vehicle protection products and related services sold through franchised...
Texas House Members Object to Medical Loss Ratio Waiver Request
Dec 22 2011 // A group of lawmakers in Texas are urging the state’s insurance commissioner to withdraw a request for a waiver to the medical loss ratio (MLR) provision in the federal health insurance reform law. They say the...
Study: Reforms Impacted Growth in Texas Workers’ Comp Claim Costs
Dec 21 2011 // The average cost of a workers’ compensation claim in Texas grew 5 percent in 2009, reflecting the impact of recent medical fee schedule increases and possibly some effect of the recession, according to a new study by...
EPA Reports Suggests Asbestos Exposure in Texas
Dec 21 2011 // An experimental asbestos demolition method used to tear down a Fort Worth, Texas, apartment building four years ago may have exposed workers and the public to carcinogenic fibers, the Environmental Protection Agency...
Drought Destroyed Half a Billion Trees in Texas in 2011
Dec 20 2011 // As many as 500 million trees scattered across the Lone Star State have died this year as a result of the unrelenting drought, according to preliminary estimates from Texas Forest Service. The Texas Forest Service reports...
Johnson Elected to Lead Insurance Council of Texas Board
Dec 20 2011 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) has elected Joe Johnson chairman of the board of directors beginning Jan. 1, 2012. Johnson is vice president and regional manager of the United Fire Group. Johnson has served 35 years...
Texas Mutual Pays Combined $690K to 4 Safety Groups
Dec 20 2011 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced that four workers’ compensation safety groups have earned a combined $690,036 in dividends: Texas Recreation Group, $278,353; Texas Construction Supply, $200,752; Texas Green...
TWFG Expands in Texas, California
Dec 19 2011 // The Woodlands Financial Group Inc. (TWFG), a retail and managing general agency headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, announced new branch locations. Chad Luitwieler opened a new office in Brea, Calif. Luitwieler comes to...
Allstate Rates for Texas Homeowners Could Go Up
Dec 19 2011 // Allstate Insurance has asked Texas regulators to allow the company to raise homeowner rates by nearly 10 percent for some customers. Allstate spokesman Joe McCormick told the Dallas Morning News that the industry is...
Appeals Court in Texas Accepts State Farm Refunds Case
Dec 16 2011 // State Farm Insurance has asked an appeals court to throw out an order requiring the company to refund about $350 million to Texas customers. A three-judge panel of the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin took the case under...
