Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tropical Storm Don Expected to Hit South Texas Coast Overnight
Jul 29 2011 // A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the Texas coast from Matagorda Island to the mouth of the Rio Grande River. The National Hurricane Center expects Tropical Storm Don to make landfall on the south Texas coast...
Texas Agriculture Losses Could Set New Record Amid Drought
Jul 28 2011 // Randy McGee spent $28,000 in one month pumping water onto about 500 acres in West Texas before he decided to give up irrigating 75 acres of corn and focus on other crops that stood a better chance in the drought. He...
Tropical Storm Warning Issued for Texas Coast
Jul 28 2011 // The National Hurricane Center has issued tropical storm warnings and watches for areas along the Texas coast after the formation of Tropical Storm Don just north of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. As of 10 a.m. on July...
Season’s First Major Storm Threatens Gulf of Mexico, Texas
Jul 27 2011 // The first major Gulf of Mexico storm of the year is brewing over the northwestern Caribbean Sea, with an 80 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone as it heads northwest to the Texas coast, and posing a threat to...
Allstate Urging Texas Agency Owners to Boost Hiring of Sales Professionals
Jul 27 2011 // Allstate Insurance agency owners across Texas are planning to hire at least 350 licensed sales professionals by the end of the year, the company announced. Allstate is encouraging its 1,000 plus agency owners to continue...
Oil and Gas Group Earns $1.8M Texas Mutual Dividend
Jul 26 2011 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced a $1.8 million dividend to the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TxOGA) safety group. The workers’ compensation dividend was based largely on the group’s overall loss...
5 Sentenced in Va. for $100M Fraud Scheme
Jul 25 2011 // Five men who pleaded guilty in a $100 million fraud scheme that claimed about 800 victims nationwide were sentenced Friday to federal prison terms ranging from three years to more than 15 years. The five included the...
South Carolina Budget Chief, Former Commissioner Heads to Texas
Jul 22 2011 // The director of the South Carolina agency that oversees much of state government operations has resigned, six months after Gov. Nikki Haley picked her for the job, to take a role in government in her home state of...
Texas Gov. Signs Windstorm Bill, Measure Affecting Surplus Lines
Jul 21 2011 // Legislative measures passed during the special session of the 82nd Legislature that impact the insurance industry in Texas have been signed by the governor. On July 19, Gov. Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill...
Zurich North America Commercial Offers Alternative to Texas Nonsubscribers
Jul 21 2011 // Property and casualty insurance Zurich announced its North America Commercial’s Accident & Health unit is now providing an alternative to Texas workers’ compensation coverage for employers who opt out of...
Kitzman Appointed as Next Texas Insurance Commissioner
Jul 20 2011 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced the appointment of Eleanor Kitzman of Austin as Texas Insurance Commissioner, effective Aug. 15, 2011, for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2013. She will replace Mike Geeslin, who announced earlier...
Texas Troopers: Special Enforcement Gets Drunk Drivers Off Roads
Jul 20 2011 // Texas Highway Patrol troopers arrested 1,406 intoxicated drivers during a special July 4 holiday enforcement program from June 27 through July 6 across the state. Of the 1406 arrests, 575 were made by troopers whose...
Morris Honored with Insurance Council of Texas Raymond Mauk Award
Jul 18 2011 // Dianne Morris, former president of the Association Casualty Insurance Co., was presented with the Raymond Mauk Leadership Award on July 15 at the Insurance Council of Texas’ 19th Annual Mid-Year Property and Casualty...
Texas PEO Law Standardizes Rules for Releasing Workers’ Comp Loss Information
Jul 18 2011 // A new Texas law backed by agents groups requires professional employer organizations (PEOs) and staff leasing firms to provide workers’ comp loss information to employer clients in a timely manner. The Independent...
Business Moves
Jul 18 2011 // Hub International, Roy Agency Chicago-based Hub International Limited (Hub) has acquired the Roy Agency Inc. (Roy), an insurance brokerage firm headquartered in Plano, Texas. The Roy team will become part of Hub...
Farmers Insurance to Pay $1.5M in Labor Settlement
Jul 18 2011 // Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance Inc. has agreed to pay $1.52 million in overtime back wages to 3,459 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that disclosed...
Farmers Insurance to Pay $1.5M in Labor Settlement
Jul 18 2011 // Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance Inc. has agreed to pay $1.52 million in overtime back wages to 3,459 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that disclosed...
TWIA Legislation Includes Pre-Event Bonds; Allows for Double Damages in Lawsuits
Jul 18 2011 // In the final hours of the 2011 Special Session the Texas Legislature worked out a compromise on reforms to the state’s insurance provider of last resort for wind and hail for properties along the Texas coast. The...
People
Jul 18 2011 // Bob Shepard, board chairman of Shepard Walton King Insurance Group in Harlingen, was installed as president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas for 2011-2012 during the association’s annual business meeting...
Ron Patterson Agency Joins SBMP Agency Network
Jul 15 2011 // Ron Patterson Insurance Agency Inc., located in Richardson, Texas, has joined SBMP Inc., a network of independent insurance agencies located primarily in central and west Texas. SBMP has 18 members located in 24 cities in...
