Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
2nd Man Pleads Guilty in Houston in New York Tour Boat Insurance Case
Oct 11 2011 // A second man has pleaded guilty in Houston in a case involving the sale of insurance to a New York tour operator whose boat capsized in 2005 killing 20 elderly tourists, federal officials reported. Edmund Hugh Benton, 63,...
Texas Insurer in New York Boat Accident Pleads Guilty to Fraud
Oct 7 2011 // A Houston man has pleaded guilty to a charge related to selling fraudulent insurance policies, including one to a company that owned a tour boat which capsized in a New York lake in 2005, killing 20 tourists. Federal...
Texas-based Capps Insurance Agency Adds Fraley as Sales Executive
Oct 6 2011 // Capps Insurance Agency of Mount Pleasant, Texas, announced it has added Jim D. Fraley as a sales executive who will primarily cover the Dallas/Fort Worth and East Texas areas. He brings more than 42 years of insurance...
Management of Texas Disaster Fund Worries Feds
Oct 6 2011 // Texas’ outsourcing of the management of more than $1 billion in federal disaster recovery funds to an engineering firm has raised concern from federal officials. The Austin American-Statesman reports that the firm,...
Few Keep Inventory of Home Property
Oct 6 2011 // It only takes one fire, tornado or hurricane to completely destroy everything you own. Insurance adjusters frequently work with homeowners who have lost everything, but for those who have not taken an inventory of their...
Texas Gov. Perry’s ‘Loser Pays’ Law Seen Having Limited Effect
Oct 5 2011 // Texas Governor Rick Perry’s latest plan to kick trial lawyers out of his state may not send them packing after all. The so-called “loser pays” law that Perry has touted as he seeks the Republican...
Fire Manufacturing Plant Near Dallas Contained, Authorities Say
Oct 4 2011 // A fire at a chemical plant south of Dallas shot massive plumes of black smoke and bright orange flames into the sky on Oct. 3, forcing schoolchildren and residents to evacuate or take cover indoors to avoid possible...
Some Texas Residents Say Seismic Testing is Damaging Homes
Oct 4 2011 // Some homeowners in southeast Fort Worth, Texas, say they have found damage to their homes that they believe was caused by recent seismic testing in their neighborhoods. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that seismic...
Texas-based MainStreet Joins the ISU Network
Oct 4 2011 // MainStreet, an insurance agency in Montgomery, Texas, has joined the ISU Network, the San Francisco-based organization reported. ISU MainStreet was established and is currently owned by President and CEO Dee Vanschoick Jr....
2011 Sets New Record for Federal Disaster Declarations
Oct 3 2011 // The year 2011 will go down as a record-setting year when it comes to federal disaster declarations, industry analysts say. With another three months left in 2011, and hurricane season continues until November 30, the...
Work-Related Fatalities Decreased in Texas in 2010
Oct 3 2011 // Texas recorded a preliminary total of 456 work-related fatalities in 2010, a 5 percent decrease compared to the revised 2009 total of 482 fatalities, the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’...
Texas AG: Roofing Contractor to Pay Restitution for Misleading Homeowners
Oct 3 2011 // A Rosenberg, Texas-based roofing contractor has agreed to reimburse all homeowners who improperly paid the company’s “liquidated damages” contracts, the Texas Attorney General’s Office reports. In...
The Woodlands Financial Group Announces 6 New Locations
Oct 3 2011 // Texas-based The Woodlands Financial Group Inc. (TWFG) has opened six new branch locations in three states. Desiree Garza has opened a new branch location in San Antonio, Texas. Garza has 13 years of experience in the...
How Can Insurance Agents Help Texas Fire Victims?
Oct 3 2011 // Many businesses and homeowners are struggling to determine the extent of their damages from what is shaping up to be the worst year in Texas history for fire losses. In handling the crisis, policyholders must quickly...
People
Oct 3 2011 // State Auto Insurance’s previously announced Austin, Texas, claims facility is now operational, the company reported. The following individuals serve on the claims team at the Austin facility: Sandra Robinson, claims...
Business Moves
Oct 3 2011 // U.S. Risk, American Special Risk Dallas-based managing general agency and surplus line wholesaler U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc. has acquired American Special Risk Insurance Services, headquartered in Woodland Hills,...
Power Line Sparks Likely Caused Bastrop, Texas, Blaze
Oct 3 2011 // Sparks from electric power lines likely started the blaze that became the most destructive wildfire in Texas history, fire officials said. The Sept. 4 blaze began near Bastrop about 25 miles east of Austin, destroying more...
Fire-ravaged Texas Land May Lose Half Its Value
Oct 3 2011 // Texas property blackened by wildfires may suffer reductions in value by as much as 50 to 60 percent and a full recovery could take years, according to Lewis Realty Advisors, a Texas-based real estate appraisal and...
Fraud Roundup
Oct 3 2011 // Former Controller for Texas Insurer Sentenced for Wire Fraud Scheme The former controller for a Houston-based property/casualty insurance company has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for her conviction of...
Agriculture Losses from Texas Wildfires Adding Up
Sep 30 2011 // In addition to the $5.2 billion in agricultural losses as a result of the drought in Texas this year, an additional $150 million in losses can be attributed to wildfires, according to state agriculture experts. Dr. Andy...
