Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Rep.’s Disaster-Related Bills Include Insurance Changes
Jan 15 2007 // State Representative Joe Deshotel (Beaumont) on Jan. 12 filed a package of six bills with the Texas Legislature, many of which relate to disaster recovery and would make changes to residential property insurance policies...
State Farm to Lower Texas Auto Rates
Jan 12 2007 // State Farm announced plans to lower its overall auto insurance rates in Texas. The change, which represents a savings of nearly $104 million annually to State Farm’s Texas auto insurance customers, will be effective...
Texas Workers’ Comp Rulebook Supplement 2006-06 Available Online
Jan 12 2007 // Rulebook Supplement 2006-06 containing rules adopted by the Texas Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation is available online from the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), Division of Workers’ Compensation. The...
Flood Policy Sales Rise 24% in Texas
Jan 11 2007 // The popularity of federal flood insurance policies in Texas is on the rise, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. ICT reported that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) records show that the number of flood...
IIAT’s Joe Vincent Management Seminar, Legislative Day set for Jan. 28-30
Jan 9 2007 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas will host its 44th Annual Joe Vincent Management Seminar and Big I Legislative Day in Austin Jan. 28-30. The three-day conference includes an industry preview and legislative...
Fraud Roundup
Jan 8 2007 // Arsonists ‘light up’ in pool of gasoline Musa Shteiwi and his son Essa had a clear criminal vision for their Steak Thyme Subs eatery. According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, they wanted to torch the...
Business Moves
Jan 7 2007 // Ohio State Automobile Mutual, Beacon Insurance Group Ohio-based State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company is acquiring the Beacon Insurance Group of Wichita Falls, Texas. The transaction, which is expected to close in the...
Fraud Roundup
Jan 7 2007 // Arsonists ‘light up’ in pool of gasoline Musa Shteiwi and his son Essa had a clear criminal vision for their Steak Thyme Subs eatery. According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, they wanted to torch the...
Texas DWC Updates Form for Requesting Designated Doctor Exams
Jan 4 2007 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has updated the form for requesting a designated doctor examination in order to comply with the statutory changes made to Labor Code...
Insurer Group to Target Windstorm Funding in Texas
Jan 4 2007 // Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) funding issues will be the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America’s (PCI) top legislative priority in its Southwestern region, the insurer group announced. The...
Texas Agent Replaces Gecko Ads with ‘The Middle Man’ Campaign
Jan 3 2007 // The Al versus The Gecko ad campaign has been replaced by “The Middle Man.” According to Al Boenker, CEO of Al Boenker Insurance Agency in North Texas, the term middle man has long been a negative in American...
Texas DWC Sets Discount and Interest Rate for Q1
Jan 3 2007 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation has set at 8.46 percent any interest or discount rate provided for in the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. This rate is computed by using the...
Texas Schedules Workshop on Workers’ Comp Health Care Networks
Dec 29 2006 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation will hold a workshop on workers’ compensation health care networks on Jan. 31, 2007. The workshop will take place at the Capitol Auditorium,...
Moore Joins Texas-based BKS Insurance Agency
Dec 28 2006 // BKS Insurance Agency located in Allen, Texas, announced the addition of Annette Moore to its staff. Moore has experience through both the independent agency and direct writer systems and will be managing personal lines for...
Texas Mutual Launches Purchasing Groups for Health Care Industry
Dec 27 2006 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced two new purchasing groups: Hospitals of Texas (HOTComp) and Texas Medical Group (TMG). Both groups provide members with a competitive option for their workers’ compensation...
Texas Announces November Enforcement Actions
Dec 27 2006 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced enforcement actions taken by Commissioner Mike Geeslin that became final during November. The actions include five license revocations, a license denial and fines and restitution...
Texas Law Cuts $32 Million Vioxx Award to $7.75 Million
Dec 26 2006 // A judge in a Texas widow’s lawsuit over the Merck & Co. drug Vioxx last Thursday reduced a $32 million jury award to about $7.75 million so that it conformed to state law. A state jury in April found Merck...
People and Places
Dec 25 2006 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas appointed P. Scott Hubacek to the newly created position of IIAT Member Services Ambassador. Hubacek will be responsible for recruiting new members and for helping new and existing...
Hellhole or business haven?
Dec 25 2006 // Texas is improving. The Rio Grande Valley and Texas Gulf Coast slipped to third place on the American Tort Reform Foundation’s (ATRF) 2006 “Judicial Hellholes” report. Last year it landed in the top...
In buying back, what did I buy?
Dec 25 2006 // A look at policy buyback settlements Over the last decade, I have participated in the drafting of dozens of settlement agreements between carriers and insureds commonly called “buybacks of insurance” or simply...
