Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
January 1 Is Deadline for ‘Fire Safe’ Cigarettes in Texas
Dec 30 2009 // As of Jan. 1, 2010, all cigarettes sold in Texas must be certified fire standard compliant (FSC), the Texas Department of Insurance and the State Fire Marshal’s Office announced. All FSC cigarettes will be marked...
Texas Imperial Sugar Settles Property Claim for 2008 Georgia Explosion
Dec 29 2009 // Sugarland, Texas-based Imperial Sugar Co. has settled the property insurance claim for the February 2008 industrial explosion at its Port Wentworth, Georgia refinery for an aggregate of $345 million. A final $45 million...
Special Reuters Report: America’s Route to Recovery
Dec 29 2009 // When Bob Hagan was a boy in Youngstown, Ohio, people equated the coke dust they swept off their doorsteps each day with opportunity, for it came from the steel mills that built this city. After graduating from high school...
Texas Sets Workers’ Comp Interest and Discount Rate at 3.85%
Dec 23 2009 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation has set the interest and discount rate for the first quarter of 2010 at 3.85 percent. The rate, effective from Jan. 1, 2010, through March 31, is...
Texas Lags on Stimulus Fund Spending for Home Weatherization
Dec 22 2009 // Texas has gotten millions of federal dollars from the economic-stimulus package to help poor residents cut their energy bills, but as of last month, only seven homes had been weather-treated, according to a newspaper...
Henle Named South Texas State Executive Director for Farmers Insurance
Dec 22 2009 // Farmers Insurance Group of Companies has named John Henle as South Texas state executive director. Henle replaces Larry Pratt who has been promoted to vice president – Sales in the company’s Los Angeles...
Texas Jury Awards BP Workers $100M in Lawsuit
Dec 21 2009 // A federal jury on Dec. 18 awarded more than $100 million to 10 workers who claimed they were injured in 2007 when a toxic substance was released at BP PLC’s Texas City plant. The jurors in Galveston, southeast of...
2009 P/C Insurance Mergers, Acquisitions Large and Small
Dec 20 2009 // Large insurers AIG, Farmers and The Hartford made moves in 2009, as did large brokers Marsh, Aon, Willis, Gallagher, Brown & Brown, Hub and Wells Fargo. So, too, did, many regional insurers and Main Street agencies....
Austin-Round Rock, Texas, Most Secure Large Metro Area
Dec 18 2009 // The central Texas area of Austin-Round Rock is the most secure U.S. community among large metropolitan areas (population of 500,000 or greater) in which to live, ccording to the sixth annual Most Secure U.S. Places to Live...
Texas Court Allows $70M Judgment in Workers’ Comp Case to Stand
Dec 16 2009 // A Texas court in San Antonio has affirmed the jury award of $70 million plus interest in a workers’ compensation case brought against Discover Property & Casualty Insurance Company, a St. Paul Travelers...
Post-Ike Dike Closure Hits Texas City Businesses Hard
Dec 15 2009 // The Texas City Dike was not built to serve as a fishing pier or recreation area. But in the 74 years since it was built, the dike turned into more than just a way to protect the Texas City Ship Channel. Boat ramps, fishing...
Sparks to Chair Insurance Council of Texas Board
Dec 15 2009 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) has elected Craig Sparks chairman of its board of directors beginning Jan. 1, 2010. Sparks has been president of the Union Standard Insurance Company in Irving since 2000. Sparks’...
New Requirements Drive Need for Surety Bonds in Texas and Arkansas
Dec 14 2009 // At least four new surety bonds have hit the market in Texas and Arkansas in the last six months, part of a wave of new bonding requirements nationwide. Brokers in both states are working to stay on top of the new mandates....
A.M. Best Assigns ‘A-‘ Rating to Texas-based Advocate, MD Insurance
Dec 11 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of “A-” (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Austin, Texas-based medical professional liability insurer Advocate, MD Insurance of...
Oklahoma, Texas Get More Than $100M to Clean Up Contaminated Sites
Dec 11 2009 // Oklahoma will receive almost $40 million to fund environmental cleanup and restoration at contaminated mining sites in the state, Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said. Texas will receive about more than $80...
Recreation Group Earns First Texas Mutual Dividend
Dec 11 2009 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company has returned a $90,643 dividend to the Texas Recreation Purchasing Group (TRPG). The group’s first dividend was based largely on its favorable loss ratio. By committing to workplace...
From Zero to 200 in 5: The Rise of Kansas City-based Ascension Insurance
Dec 11 2009 // Len Kline and his business partners, the private equity firms Parthenon Capital and Century Capital Management, had an ambitious goal when they created Kansas City, Mo.-based Ascension Insurance Inc. in late 2007. They...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Assoc. Posts New Maximum Liability Limits
Dec 10 2009 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) reports that new maximum limits of liability will go into effect Jan. 1, 2010. The new limits are higher than those currently in place for 2009. TWIA recommends that all...
Safety Board: Citgo Texas Refinery Blast ‘Significant Near Miss’
Dec 10 2009 // The U.S. Chemical Safety Board on Wednesday called a July explosion at Citgo Petroleum Corp.’s Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery “a significant near-miss” for a widespread release of highly toxic hydrogen...
New Board Members Named for Texas Windstorm Insurance Association
Dec 9 2009 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin has announced new board members for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). House Bill (HB) 4409, passed by the 81st Texas Legislature in 2009, changed the composition of...
