Latest Texas Headlines

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

FEMA Awards $2.7M to Orange County, Texas, for Flood Damage Project

Aug 15 2019 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded more than $2.7 million to Orange County through the Texas Division of Emergency Management to fund a project to acquire and demolish 20 structures impacted by...

Nation’s Excess & Surplus Market Reports 13% Growth Through Midyear

Aug 14 2019 // Source: Texas Surplus Lines Stamping Office The nation’s excess and surplus lines insurance industry is growing almost 13 percent faster halfway through this year than it did last year at this time. Mid-year premium...

Priority One Compliance in Texas Approved for Trucking Insurance Continuing Ed

Aug 14 2019 // Priority One Compliance Services LLC, based in Diana, Texas, announced it has been approved as a training provider for transportation insurance-related continuing education in several U.S. states. Priority One Compliance...

Texas’ Tricolor Launches Auto Insurance Option for Low Income Consumers

Aug 13 2019 // Tricolor, a Dallas-based used vehicle retailer focusing on the sale and financing of vehicles to the Hispanic consumer, is now offering affordable auto insurance option for low-income and credit invisible customers through...

The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research Launches High School Program

Aug 8 2019 // Austin, TX, August 8, 2019 – The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research announces the creation of a high school program for students interested in attaining an insurance certification. The Certified...

New Texas Law Aims to Crack Down on Roof Repair Scams

Aug 8 2019 // A new law in Texas that goes into effect on Sept. 1 makes it clear that it’s illegal for a contractor or roofer to waive an insurance deductible, according to the state insurance department. “This new law will...

Low Unemployment Rates a Problem for San Antonio Hotels

Aug 7 2019 // With San Antonio’s unemployment rate hitting historic lows, hoteliers in the city’s $15.2 billion tourism industry are struggling to find housekeepers, dishwashers and waiters. The San Antonio Express-News...

Texas Windstorm Insurer: No Rate Hike for 2020

Aug 6 2019 // Texas’ provider of last resort for wind and hail insurance for Texas coastal properties won’t be raising its residential and commercial property rates next year. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA)...

Next Level Acquires North Texas Employee Benefits Provider, A&H Benefits

Aug 6 2019 // Next Level Insurance Agency, a Dallas-based healthcare consulting and employee benefits brokerage firm, has acquired A&H Benefits, also based in North Texas. A&H was formed in 1997 as a corporation to provide...

Texas Considering $600M in Upgrades to Prevent Highway Deaths

Aug 6 2019 // State transportation officials are considering a plan that would earmark $390 million to help reduce highway deaths by straightening roads, improving lighting and adding guardrails. On May 30, the Texas Transportation...

Walmart Has Mandatory Active Shooter Training for Employees

Aug 5 2019 // Days before Saturday’s mass shooting that killed 20 people at a Walmart Inc. store in El Paso, Texas, another shooting erupted at a Walmart in Southaven, Mississippi. In that case, Walmart’s mandatory...

Business Moves

Aug 5 2019 // East The Hilb Group, 360 Corporate Benefit Advisors The Hilb Group LLC has acquired New England-based 360 Corporate Benefit Advisors. The transaction became effective May 1, 2019. With offices in Fairfield, Conn., and...

Texas High Court Clarifies Bad Faith in Appraisal Process

Aug 2 2019 // An insurer’s payment of the appraisal value after disputing a claim does not establish that it was liable, nor does that payment prevent a policyholder from pursuing penalties under the Prompt Payment of Claims Act,...

Official: Harris County Sues Exxon Over Air Pollution from Petrochemical Fire

Aug 1 2019 // Exxon Mobil Corp. was hit with a lawsuit on Thursday over pollution from a fire at the company’s Baytown Olefins Plant, according to an attorney for Harris County, Texas, which filed the suit. The fire was being...

Fourth Death in Eight Months at Texas Hospital Blamed on Faulty Care

Aug 1 2019 // Officials have reported another patient death in a Houston medical complex, the fourth such death in the last eight months due to apparent deficiencies in care. The Houston Chronicle reports the patient died at Ben Taub...

Gas Line Explosion in Kentucky Neighborhood Kills 1, Ignites Homes

Aug 1 2019 // A gas line explosion shortly after midnight on Thursday in a residential community in rural Kentucky sent up a ball of flame that could be seen for miles, killing one person and setting several houses on fire, a local...

Fire at Texas Plant Could Disrupt Exxon’s Chemical Business

Aug 1 2019 // Exxon Mobil Corp.’s suburban Houston refining and chemicals complex erupted in flames on Wednesday, prompting municipal leaders to order residents to seek shelter indoors, shut their windows and turn off air...

2 Texas Workers Killed by Toxic Fumes From Fertilizer Truck

Jul 31 2019 // Authorities say two men have died after being overcome by toxic fumes while working with a mobile fertilizer truck near a Houston high school. Houston Fire Department Deputy Chief Richard Galvan says one worker had opened...

Rice U. Says Its Hurricane Plan for Houston Better Than $20B Coastal Barrier

Jul 30 2019 // For about a decade, two of Texas’ top universities have pushed dueling plans to protect the Houston-Galveston region from hurricanes. A concept championed by Texas A&M University at Galveston appears to be...

Texas Windstorm Insurer: Rate Inadequacy Up Year Over Year

Jul 29 2019 // In advance of its Aug. 6 board meeting in Galveston, the insurer of last resort for wind and hail in counties along the Texas coast said it has determined its residential coverage rates are inadequate by 41.7 percent and...