Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Arkema NA, CEO Indicted in Texas for ‘Reckless’ Chemical Release
Aug 6 2018 // The North American subsidiary of a French chemical manufacturer and two senior staff members were indicted in connection with last year’s explosion at the Crosby, Texas, plant in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Arkema...
Flood Insurance Uptake Rises in Texas but Increase May Not Last
Aug 6 2018 // Federal data indicates the number of homes in Texas with flood insurance has risen in the year since Hurricane Harvey inundated the Houston area. The floods last August killed nearly 70 people and damaged or destroyed more...
Texas Seeks Input on Changes to Catastrophe Data Call Standards
Aug 6 2018 // Texas insurance regulators have responded to insurer requests for revisions to its standards for catastrophe data calls and is seeking input on the proposed changes. The Texas Department of Insurance said following...
Texas Petrochemical Contractor to Pay $135K in Disability Discrimination Suit Settlement
Aug 6 2018 // A Texas petrochemical services company that fired three brothers because of a blood disorder that they shared will pay $135,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by federal officials. Signature Industrial Services LLC (SIS) in...
People
Aug 6 2018 // Risk management services firm, Hanover Stone Partners, has tapped Ellen Shew Holland to lead its newly established national higher education practice. She is based in Dallas. Shew Holland will lead a practice that will...
Texas Sees 10.6% Growth in Surplus Lines Premium at Mid-Year
Aug 6 2018 // May 2018 was the highest-grossing month for surplus lines premium in Texas, with $681 million recorded, the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) reported. Total premium in Texas stood at $3.06 billion as of June...
ReliaMax Dropped from Texas’ Eligible Surplus Lines List
Aug 6 2018 // Following its placement into liquidation by the South Dakota Division of Insurance in late June, the Texas Department of Insurance removed ReliaMax Surety Co. from the list of eligible surplus lines insurers in Texas, the...
Business Moves
Aug 6 2018 // BNC Insurance Agency, Murray, Schoen & Homer BNC Insurance Agency Inc., an independently owned retail brokerage firm with headquarters in Rye Brook, N.Y., has acquired Murray, Schoen & Homer Inc., also located in...
West Texas Natural Gas Pipeline Explosions Injure 7
Aug 3 2018 // The number of people injured in a series of explosions on a West Texas natural gas pipeline has risen to seven. Authorities initially said five people — a volunteer firefighter and four pipeline employees — were hurt...
Texas Parking Garage Collapse Damages Dozens of Cars
Aug 2 2018 // Two sections of a suburban Dallas parking garage have collapsed five hours apart, sending vehicles and rubble onto other vehicles below. Assistant Fire Chief Jack Taylor said there appeared to be no injuries in the initial...
TWIA Board OKs Additional $106.8M Insurer Assessment for Harvey Losses
Aug 1 2018 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) board has unanimously approved an additional Class 1 member assessment of $106.8 million for Hurricane Harvey losses, the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) reported. The...
Texas Petrochemical Contractor to Pay $135K in Disability Suit Settlement
Aug 1 2018 // A Texas petrochemical services company that fired three brothers because of a blood disorder that they shared will pay $135,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by federal officials over the firing. Signature Industrial Services...
Flood Insurance Uptake Rates Rise in Texas Following Harvey
Jul 31 2018 // Little more than two months before Hurricane Harvey slammed the Gulf Coast of Texas, Alberto Castaneda let his home’s flood insurance lapse. He had never filed a claim on the policy in 10 years and he needed the...
Texas Countertop Maker Faces $318.6K in Fines for Workplace Hazards
Jul 31 2018 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Tyler, Texas-based Berry Marble Company Inc. – doing business as U.S. Granite – for exposing employees to machine...
Higginbotham, Sellers-Patterson Insurance Merge Operations in Tyler, Texas
Jul 30 2018 // Higginbotham and Sellers-Patterson Insurance have merged operations in Tyler, Texas. Sellers-Patterson, led by Linda Sellers, is Higginbotham’s second office in Tyler; the first established in 2014 when Higginbotham...
Where Oil Prices Meet Trucker Fatalities: ‘Death Highway’
Jul 30 2018 // Route 285 is the formal designation for one of the main roads used to carry supplies to and from the oilfields of West Texas. Locals call it something else: “Death Highway.” Last year, 93 people died in...
Texas Seeks Input on Draft of Revisions to Catastrophe Data Call Standards
Jul 27 2018 // Texas insurance regulators have responded to insurer requests for revisions to its standards for catastrophe data calls and is seeking input on the proposed changes. The Texas Department of Insurance said following...
Texas Contractor Ordered to Pay $250K After Worker Fatality at Dallas Site
Jul 26 2018 // A Texas construction contractor has been ordered to pay $250,000 in criminal and civil penalties an employee suffered a fatal fall at an apartment complex in Dallas, federal safety officials said. U.S. District Court Judge...
Petrobras Reaches $3.5M Settlement in Texas Refinery Emissions Case
Jul 26 2018 // A U.S. unit of Brazilian state-run company Petrobras agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit over alleged toxic emissions from its Pasadena, Texas, oil refinery, the company said. The settlement, which is subject to...
Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Now Writing Accountants Professional Liability in Texas
Jul 26 2018 // Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies is now offering professional liability insurance for accountants in Texas. The new accountants’ professional liability product is designed to meet the needs of smaller...
