Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Seeking Money for ‘Coastal Spine,’ Government Protection from Climate Change
Aug 23 2018 // As the nation plans new defenses against the more powerful storms and higher tides expected from climate change, one project stands out: an ambitious proposal to build a nearly 60-mile “spine” of concrete...
Survey: 10% of Texans Displaced by Harvey Still Haven’t Gone Home
Aug 23 2018 // One year after Hurricane Harvey slammed the Texas coast, 10 percent of the people impacted by the disaster have not been able to return to their homes, according to a report from two nonprofits that surveyed Texans about...
University of Texas Settles Kearney Discrimination Lawsuit for $600K
Aug 22 2018 // The University of Texas agreed to pay $600,000 to settle former women’s track coach Bev Kearney’s race and gender discrimination lawsuit, according to documents released Monday. Kearney and the school agreed to...
Texas Workers’ Comp Fraudster Sentenced for Double Dipping
Aug 21 2018 // A Travis County, Texas district court has sentenced Gary Hunt of Austin on workers’ compensation fraud charges. Hunt reported a job-related injury while working as a sales coach for Radiant Plumbing Service Inc., and...
Finding Toyota Negligent in Accident, Texas Jury Awards $242M to Family
Aug 20 2018 // A Texas jury awarded damages of $242 million to a Dallas family after finding that defects in the family’s Lexus sedan caused injuries to their two children during a rear-end collision, the law firm representing the...
Court Says Trump Administration Must Implement Chemical Safety Rule
Aug 20 2018 // A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the Trump administration to immediately implement an Obama-era chemical safety rule introduced in response to a 2013 explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas that killed 15...
TWIA Requests 10% Rate Increase; Approves $106.8M Assessment for Harvey Losses
Aug 20 2018 // The board of directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association voted at its recent quarterly meeting to raise rates for residential and commercial properties by 10 percent next year, while acknowledging a rate...
Business Moves
Aug 20 2018 // TrueNorth, Gateway Insurance Services TrueNorth Companies has acquired Iowa-based Gateway Insurance Services, which will adopt the TrueNorth name and brand. With locations in Ames and Iowa Falls, Gateway Insurance Services...
ICT to Begin Annual Texas ‘Hurricane Tour’
Aug 17 2018 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) is set to launch its annual “hurricane tour” aimed at reminding coastal residents to be ready in case a hurricane or tropical storm should make landfall this year. Beginning...
Lingering Texas Drought Has Ranchers Reducing Herds
Aug 16 2018 // A growing number of Texas ranchers and farmers are trimming their livestock, or selling them altogether, as the persistent drought has eliminated water supplies and forage for the animals. Some landowners describe a...
Texas Insurance Department: Harvey Claims Reporting Deadline Approaching
Aug 15 2018 // As the anniversary of Hurricane Harvey approaches, the Texas Department of Insurance is reminding Texans that some insurance policies have a one-year deadline to file claims. Harvey made landfall August 25. Texas Windstorm...
Firefighters With Cancer Often Denied Workers’ Comp in Texas
Aug 15 2018 // Many Texas cities are denying workers’ compensation to firefighters with cancer, according to union leaders and state lawmakers. Over the past six years, more than 90 percent of the 117 workers compensation claims...
Nearly Year After Harvey, Recovery Continues in South Texas Town
Aug 14 2018 // Armonie Brown in Refugio, Texas, pauses for a second when asked about Hurricane Harvey. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports Brown saw friends and teammates lose their homes and all their belongings, while the school he...
Texas’ Murex Petroleum Sued for Allowing Racial Harassment, Hostile Workplace
Aug 9 2018 // A Texas-based oil and gas company, operating in Tioga, N.D., violated civil rights law by subjecting an African-American employee to a hostile work environment based on his race, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Association: Rates Inadequate by More Than 30%
Aug 9 2018 // While the board of the directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association voted at its recent quarterly meeting to raise rates for residential and commercial properties by 10 percent next year, the group acknowledges a...
Texas Governor Renews Hurricane Harvey Disaster Declaration
Aug 8 2018 // Texas Governor Greg Abbott has extended the disaster declaration for 60 counties impacted by Hurricane Harvey last year. Abbott first issued a disaster declaration on Aug. 23, 2017, for Aransas, Austin, Bee, Brazoria,...
IBHS Study Chronicles Hurricane Harvey Wind Damage, Provides Takeaways
Aug 8 2018 // Hurricane Harvey will be remembered as an epic flooding disaster – and rightly so. But there is more to the story of this brutal hurricane which struck in late August 2017, according to the Insurance Institute for...
Texas Commission Seeking Comments for Texas Windstorm Insurance Review
Aug 7 2018 // While the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is not subject to closure by the state’s Sunset Commission, the insurer is subject to periodic review by the commission as required by the Texas Sunset Act. As it...
PCI: Majority of Texans Not Prepared for Hurricane Season
Aug 6 2018 // A large majority of Texas residents are not taking necessary steps to protect their property this hurricane season despite the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, according to a new poll conducted online by SurveyMonkey on...
Hub International Acquires The Ward Agency in Texas
Aug 6 2018 // Hub International Limited (Hub) has acquired the assets of Texas-based The Ward Agency (Ward Agency). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Headquartered in Longview, Texas with an office in Tyler, Texas, Ward...
