Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
More Texans Exposed to Tornadoes Amid Urban Sprawl
May 18 2018 // Mark Fox cringes every time he relives the day his worst weather nightmare came true. April 3, 2012, was a hot and humid day in North Texas, and the unstable atmosphere spawned 17 tornadoes in five hours in the Dallas-Fort...
EPA Wants to Rescind Obama Chemical Plant Regulations
May 18 2018 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took steps on Thursday to roll back and delay Obama-era rules aimed at improving safety at chemical plants, which had come in response to a 2013 explosion at a fertilizer plant in...
Claims Against Texas-Based Karolyis Not Addressed in $500M Nassar Settlement
May 18 2018 // The $500 million settlement Michigan State University reached with more than 300 women and girls who said they were assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar doesn’t address claims against other parties, including...
Industry Veterans Meserole, McGuire Join Austin’s Watkins Insurance Group
May 17 2018 // Watkins Insurance Group, based in Austin, Texas, has added Greg Meserole and Scott McGuire as vice presidents. Meserole and McGuire join a team of more than 100 professionals at Watkins Insurance Group’s Austin...
Former Texas Workers’ Comp Commissioner Opens The Brannan Firm
May 16 2018 // Ryan Brannan, former Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation in Texas and advisor to former Gov. Rick Perry, has founded The Brannan Firm, which will provide clients with legal and government relations...
CPro Associates Acquires Pan-American Benefits Solutions’ Nonsubscription Business
May 16 2018 // Dallas, Texas-based CPro Associates Inc., a provider of nonsubscriber occupational injury benefit plans, has purchased Pan-American Benefits Solutions’ nonsubscription book of business, effective May 14, 2018. CPro...
Texas Calls for 2017 Commercial Property, Businessowners Premium Data
May 15 2018 // The Texas Department of Insurance has issued a special data call to companies writing direct commercial property or businessowners insurance in Texas catastrophe areas during calendar year 2017. The data call is necessary...
Texas to Hold Hearing on Request to Extend Work Comp Experience Modifier Deadline
May 14 2018 // The Texas Department of Insurance will hold a public hearing on the petition by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas to extend the expiration date of negotiated experience modifiers in the National Council on...
12 Indicted on Property Insurance Fraud Charges in Southeast Texas
May 11 2018 // A federal grand jury in Beaumont, Texas, has returned a 40-count indictment charging 12 individuals with federal violations related to a $1.7 million insurance fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney...
Slape, Walker Promoted at Texas Insurance Department
May 11 2018 // Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan has promoted Doug Slape to second-in-command at the Texas Department of Insurance. Slape has been at the agency since 1988 and has served as deputy commissioner for the Financial...
Arthur J. Gallagher to Acquire Texas MGA, Pronto
May 10 2018 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the equity interests of Pronto Holdco LLC, the parent company of Pronto Insurance (Pronto). The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and...
Texas Windstorm Association Seeking $175M Assessment for Harvey Losses
May 9 2018 // The board of directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has authorized staff to seek regulatory approval for a $175 million assessment to TWIA’s insurance company members for losses associated with...
Texas Governor: Harris County Can Hold Flood Control Bond Election
May 9 2018 // Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has granted Harris County’s request to hold an August special election in which residents could be asked to approve as much as $2.5 billion to finance critical flood-control projects. The...
Texas Oil Industry Employment Lags Amid Stalled Oil Market Recovery
May 8 2018 // Skilled workers in Texas are still looking for jobs as U.S. employment in the oil and gas industry continues to lag behind rising oil prices. The Houston Chronicle reports that job seekers hoping for an oil market recovery...
Nearly 25 Tons of Smoked Sausage Products Recalled by Texas Company
May 8 2018 // A Texas company has recalled nearly 25 tons of smoked sausage products due to possible plastic contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a statement saying the recall by Eddy Packing Co. in Yoakum involves...
Texas Mutual Distributing $1M in Safety Education Grants to 10 Colleges
May 8 2018 // Austin-based workers’ compensation insurer, Texas Mutual Insurance Co., is awarding $1 million in grants to 10 colleges across Texas to fund workplace safety courses for employers, workers and the general...
Texas Surplus Lines Stamping Office Sees Drop in Late Filings
May 7 2018 // The Surplus Lines Stamp-ing Office of Texas (SLTX) says the number of surplus lines policies filed after the filing deadline has decreased since the start of the SLTX late filers outreach program last year. In 2017, 993...
People
May 7 2018 // Kristi Koncaba, president and chief operating officer at Texan Bank, has been appointed to the board of directors for workers’ compensation insurer, Texas Mutual Insurance Co. Koncaba has 15 years of experience in...
Its IPO Complete, Goosehead Insurance Looks Toward Expansion
May 7 2018 // A North Texas-based insurance agency that operates nationally via a dual corporate/franchise model is planning on expanding following its April 27 initial public offering (IPO). Goosehead Insurance, headquartered in...
Texas Attorney Sentenced in $26.5M Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme
May 7 2018 // An attorney in Grand Prairie, Texas, has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $26,572,458.93 in restitution for his role in a workers’ compensation fraud scheme. Federal prosecutors say...
