Latest Texas Headlines

All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Hub International Acquires Texas-based The Transportation Group

May 19 2011 // Hub International Limited (Hub) has acquired The Transportation Group, LTD (TTG), a Dallas and Houston, Texas-based brokerage firm that specializes in insurance and risk management for the trucking industry. Terms of the...

New MGA Sees Opportunity for Independents in Growing Hispanic Market

May 16 2011 // With 30 years of insurance industry experience under his belt, one Texas-based insurance executive decided recently it was time to open his own operation to serve the insurance needs of the growing Hispanic population....

Report: Hurricanes Pose Risk to 1.8M Coastal Homes

May 16 2011 // More than 1.8 million homes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are at great risk of being damaged by a hurricane, three times the number located in federally defined flood zones, according to a recently released...

Report: Hurricanes Pose Risk to 1.8M Costal Homes

May 16 2011 // More than 1.8 million homes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are at great risk of being damaged by a hurricane, three times the number located in federally defined flood zones, according to a report released Tuesday. The...

Business Moves

May 16 2011 // American Hallmark, TBIC American Hallmark Insurance Co. of Texas, a subsidiary of Ft. Worth-based Hallmark Financial Services Inc., announced in late March that it is acquiring TBIC Holding Corp., and subsidiaries Texas...

People

May 16 2011 // Marsh & McLennan Cos. appointed Daniel S. Glaser to the newly created position of group president and CEO. Glaser previously had been chairman and CEO of Marsh. He will continue to report to Brian Duperreault,...

Business Losses Due to ‘Action’ by Civil Authorities: When Is There Coverage?

May 16 2011 // Virtually all insurance policies contain provisions and exclusions dealing with events that most insureds consider so remote and unlikely that they rarely give any thought to their possible occurrence, much less what...

Drought Expands Dramatically in Texas, Losses Mount

May 13 2011 // Another dry week in the southern United States has driven the spread of a devastating drought further across Texas and neighboring states, promising to add to economic losses that could top $3 billion. Texas, suffering its...

Business Losses Due to Civil Authority Action: When Is There Coverage?

May 12 2011 // Virtually all insurance policies contain provisions and exclusions dealing with events that most insureds consider so remote and unlikely that they rarely give any thought to their possible occurrence, much less what...

Bills to Continue Insurance Dept., Reform Wind Pool Pass Texas House

May 12 2011 // Republicans in Texas easily swatted down major changes to insurance regulation in a Texas House bill that would keep the current rules and bureaucracy in place. The bill continuing the functions of the Texas Department of...

Ratings Recap: Keystone, Forestry Mutual, Residential Re, National Unity, Dakota

May 12 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A+’ (Superior) from’ B++’ (Good) and the issuer credit ratings (ICRs) to “aa-” from “bbb” of Keystone...

Workers’ Compensation Injury Hotline Expands in Texas

May 11 2011 // Company Nurse, a nurse hotline for workplace injuries, has expanded its presence in Texas, adding account management staff to serve the Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and surrounding areas. Company Nurse was developed to help...

Alleged Sale of Fake Antibiotic Draws Lawsuit from Texas AG

May 9 2011 // The Texas Attorney General’s Office is suing companies from Texas and Georgia accused of misleading mostly Hispanic consumers by selling a dietary supplement under a name similar to the Spanish translation of a...

Hundreds Sue Over West Texas Chemical Contamination

May 9 2011 // Two lawsuits have been filed on behalf of more than 250 West Texas residents against four companies they contend contaminated their Midland-area neighborhood with hexavalent chromium. According to court documents obtained...

Texas: Many Life Insurers Keep Beneficiary Proceeds in Accounts

May 9 2011 // The Texas Department of Insurance says a recent industry survey shows that many life insurance companies place policy proceeds into Retained Asset Accounts (RAAs) instead of paying proceeds directly to the beneficiaries....

‘Exceptional Drought’ Expands in Texas, Oklahoma

May 6 2011 // The severe drought ravaging Texas and other parts of the U.S. Southwest is getting worse, weather experts said Thursday, and little respite is in sight for farmers, ranchers and others whose livelihoods and properties are...

FEMA Defends Lack of Disaster Declaration Over Texas Wildfires

May 5 2011 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency defended its decision to refuse more assistance for Texas in the wake of devastating wildfires, saying that the state has already received sufficient U.S. government help. Gov. Rick...

Texas Continues Crack Down on Late Surplus Line Filings

May 4 2011 // Among the enforcement actions for March 2011 announced by the Texas Department of Insurance are a number of fines imposed on surplus lines wholesalers for failing to report surplus line premium in a timely...

Texas Supreme Court: Public Entities Immune from Retaliatory Discharge Claims

May 3 2011 // A ruling by the Texas Supreme Court will make it more difficult for former employees of public entities to pursue retaliatory discharge claims against those employers. The Court has held that a political subdivision has...

Higher Humidity Readings Aid Texas Wildfire Crews

May 3 2011 // Higher humidity readings in West Texas have given an assist to crew battling wildfires in the arid reaches of West Texas. Federal firefighting team spokeswoman Diane Steltz said no structures were lost or threatened on May...