Latest Texas Headlines

Wanted: Florida Agencies Focusing on Hispanic Market

Oct 20 2008 // Sunshine State High on List of States for Agency Acquisitions by Consolidators Behind Confie Seguros The movers behind the insurance agency consolidation firm Confie Seguros say they are well-positioned to meet their goal...

Hurricanes, Credit Crunch Hit Louisiana, Texas Agriculture

Oct 20 2008 // Like farmers and ranchers across the United States, agriculture producers in Texas and Louisiana have been impacted by rising fuel and fertilizer costs, and they fear the credit squeeze gripping the nation will make it...

TWIA Claims From Ike May be Less Than Expected

Oct 20 2008 // Two weeks after Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 13, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association — the state’s insurer of last resort for wind coverage along the coast — was fielding many thousands of...

Assessment of Ike’s Environmental Damage Begins

Oct 20 2008 // Hurricane Ike’s winds and massive waves destroyed oil platforms, tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines. The environmental damage is now becoming apparent: At least a half million gallons of crude oil spilled...

Texas Insured Driver Database in Effect Statewide

Oct 20 2008 // TexasSure, the vehicle insurance verification database designed to reduce the number of uninsured motorists in Texas, is now available to law enforcement statewide, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported. The...

Oct 20 2008 // Darleen Madden has been elected president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas (IIAD) for a term beginning Sept.1, 2008, through August 2009. Madden is co-owner of Glenn-Madden & Associates located in Dallas,...

Business Moves

Oct 20 2008 // AmWINS North Carolina-based wholesale insurance broker AmWINS Group Inc. has formed an energy practice within its brokerage division. Based in Houston, the energy practice is led by Pascal Ray and Maryanne Maniaci. Ray and...

New Markets

Oct 20 2008 // The following markets were selected from the MyNewMarkets database of 25,000 coverages and programs. To find additional markets, or to submit markets, go to www.MyNewMarkets.com. Medi-Tourism Professional Liability Market...

Medical Professional Liability Insurer Drops Rates by 6.2% in Texas

Oct 17 2008 // Medical professional liability insurer Medical Protective announced a 6.2 percent average rate decrease for physicians in Texas, effective Jan. 1, 2009. The rate change represents the sixth rate reduction for the insurer...

Confie Seguros Acquires Alamo Auto Insurance Group

Oct 16 2008 // Confie Seguros, a provider of auto insurance with an emphasis on serving Hispanic consumers, has acquired auto insurance brokerage Alamo Auto Insurance. The acquisition of San Antonio-based Alamo expands Confie...

Texas Regulators: Ike Repairs on Coast Must Follow Building Code Rules

Oct 16 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) issued a reminder that homes along the Gulf Coast damaged by Hurricane Ike must be repaired in accordance with the Texas Windstorm Building Code (TWBC) if the homeowner plans to...

Bank Holding Companies’ Insurance Revenue Jumps 9.5%

Oct 16 2008 // The nation’s bank holding companies increased their total insurance revenue 9.5 percent to $23.7 billion in the first half of 2008 from $21.7 billion during the same period in 2007. CitiGroup (N.Y.), Wells Fargo...

Crime Prevention Program Comes to Texas/Mexico Border

Oct 15 2008 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) has joined with the Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority and the Del Rio, Laredo and Brownville Police Departments in a crime prevention campaign aimed at preventing...

Texas AG Urges Continued Reporting of Ike Related Price Gouging

Oct 14 2008 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently extended the Hurricane Ike disaster declaration through Nov. 6 for 90 Texas counties and the state Attorney General’s Office (OAG) is urging consumers to continue reporting instances of...

Fines for No Insurance Included in $815M Texas Drivers Owe State

Oct 13 2008 // Nearly one million Texas motorists owe a combined $815 million for violations such as a driving while intoxicated and failure to have insurance, and the state wants them to start paying up. The Texas Department of Public...

Ike is Costliest Storm in Texas History; Price Tag Now More Than $11B

Oct 13 2008 // A month after Hurricane Ike pounded the island, piles of sheetrock, appliances, furniture and family mementos dot most streets in Galveston. Electronic road signs in Southeast Texas flash, “Watch for cows next 20...

American National Aiding Clients of Former Agent Accused of Premium Theft

Oct 10 2008 // Galveston, Texas-based American National Insurance Company and its subsidiary, American National Property and Casualty Company learned shortly after Hurricane Ike that one of its agents had failed to forward to the Texas...

Medical Group Earns First Texas Mutual Workers’ Comp Dividend

Oct 10 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced a $282,592 dividend to the Texas Medical Group (TMG) workers’ compensation discount program. This marks the group’s first dividend. The group dividend was based largely...

Texas Commission Says Insurance Counsel Should Remain Independent

Oct 9 2008 // Although the staff of Texas Sunset Advisory Commission recommended earlier this year that the Office of Public Insurance Counsel (OPIC), which represents consumers as a class in insurance regulation, be abolished and its...

Ike Claims for Texas Windstorm Pool May be Less Than Expected

Oct 9 2008 // Two weeks after Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 13, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, the state’s insurer of last resort for wind coverage along the coast, was fielding thousands of claims per...