Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Windstorm Association to Increase Rates
May 30 2006 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin on May 26 signed a Commissioner’s Order allowing the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) to increase rates for residential homeowners’ wind coverage by 3.1...
Report Ranks S.D. Drivers as Safest; Phoenix Drivers Safest in Big Cities
May 24 2006 // Residents of Sioux Falls, S.D., are the safest drivers in the United States, according to the second-annual “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report.” The largest city in South Dakota moves up from the...
San Antonio Insurance Professional John Lary Kephart Dies at 86
May 23 2006 // Long time insurance professional John Lary Kephart, age 86, passed away May 9, 2006, at his home in San Antonio, Texas, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Amorita, Okla., on March 30, 1920, to the late John...
Tax reform, no catastrophe relief
May 22 2006 // The Texas Legislature concluded its recent special session by passing school finance and property tax reform–finally. After two regular sessions and four special sessions, Texas lawmakers were able to set aside their...
People and Places
May 22 2006 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company appointed Larry Wagner as its new vice president of underwriting. Wagner will serve as chief underwriting officer and will oversee loss prevention efforts. Wagner has 30 years of underwriting...
Business Moves
May 22 2006 // Pierson & Fendley, CAA Combined Agents of America LLC, Austin, announced that Pierson & Fendley Insurance Agency LLC of Paris, Texas, joined CAA as the group’s 34th member. Pierson & Fendley has served...
News Currents
May 22 2006 // Study: Tort reforms reduce med-mal premiums Tort reforms are the best proven instrument for reducing medical liability insurance premium growth, according to a new study conducted by Stanford University Professor Daniel P....
People
May 22 2006 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company appointed Larry Wagner as its new vice president of underwriting. Wagner will serve as chief underwriting officer and will oversee loss prevention efforts. Wagner has 30 years of underwriting...
Editor’s Note: Tax reform, no catastrophe relief
May 22 2006 // The Texas Legislature concluded its recent special session by passing school finance and property tax reform—finally. After two regular sessions and four special sessions, Texas lawmakers were able to set aside their...
Study: Tort reforms reduce med-mal premiums
May 22 2006 // Tort reforms are the best proven instrument for reducing medical liability insurance premium growth, according to a new study conducted by Stanford University Professor Daniel P. Kessler, JD, PhD, who also serves as a...
Allstate Dropping Windstorm Coverage in Texas Coastal Areas
May 22 2006 // In a move it says will “help protect its ability to meet future customer needs throughout Texas while maintaining a strong presence along the Texas coast,” Allstate Texas Llloyds announced it will phase out...
Nine Companies Approved to Self-Insure for Workers’ Comp in Texas
May 19 2006 // Texas Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Albert Betts recently approved the reapplications for Certificates of Authority to Self-Insure covering a one-year period for nine private employers. Texas law allows...
Sutherland Joins Higginbotham in its Denton Office
May 18 2006 // Fort Worth-based Higginbotham & Associates announced the addition of seasoned employee benefits broker Brian Sutherland to its Denton, Texas, office. Higginbotham acquired the Denton agency when it merged with the...
Texas Best, Vermont Worst Tort Climate for Jobs, Capital Investment, Claims New Study
May 16 2006 // In the competition for jobs and capital investment among the states, those states that suffer from high tort costs will continue to lose jobs and businesses to states with superior tort systems, according to a new report...
Zenith Insurance Adds Ladner as Regional VP in Texas
May 16 2006 // Workers’ compensation specialty company Zenith Insurance announced that Gerald Ladner has joined the company as regional vice president in its Zenith Austin unit. Ladner joins Zenith from Zurich North America with...
Insurer Group Reminds Homeowners of the Need for Flood Coverage
May 16 2006 // Many Texas homeowners are under the impression that flooding caused by rising water is covered under the standard homeowners insurance policy in Texas and often they discover that fact too late, according to Sandra Ray,...
Texas Workers’ Comp Educational Session Offered in Lubbock on May 30
May 16 2006 // The Lubbock Field Office of the Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) is hosting a brown bag educational session for health care providers, employers, human resource managers, claims...
State Considers Raising Speed Limits in West Texas
May 16 2006 // Speed limits would increase to 80 mph on two West Texas interstate highways under a proposal by the Texas Department of Transportation. The Texas Transportation Commission could take up the proposed change, which would...
Hallmark Reports Increased Revenues
May 16 2006 // Fort Worth-based Hallmark Financial Services Inc. reported operating results for the first quarter of fiscal 2006, indicating higher net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, compared to the same period last...
Texas Workers’ Comp Division Posts Newsletter Online
May 15 2006 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) announced it has posted the Spring issue of the DWC Workers’ CompUpdate newsletter on the agency Web site at...
