Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Former Texas Workers’ Comp Commissioner Bordelon Joins Granite Public Affairs
Jul 27 2017 // Former Texas Public Insurance Counsel and former Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Rod Bordelon has joined Austin-based Granite Public Affairs where he will lead the firm’s insurance and regulatory affairs...
TCOR Management’s Dudney to Chair Texas Independent Insurance Agents Group
Jul 27 2017 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) elected Rick Dudney of TCOR Management in New Braunfels to serve as chairman for 2017-2018 during IIAT’s 120th Annual Conference and Trade Show in Fort Worth. Dudney...
Texas Bill Allows More Flexibility in Employee Health Benefit Plans
Jul 26 2017 // Small employers in Texas may now get some flexibility in selecting and retaining the health benefit plan of their choosing for their employees following the passage of a bill in the regular session of the Texas...
Surplus Lines Insurance Premium Up Nationwide
Jul 26 2017 // A mid-year compilation of excess and surplus (E&S) insurance premium amounts by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) shows a 6.6 percent increase in premium nationally compared with the same period last...
Team Work Ready Execs Sentenced in Federal Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme
Jul 25 2017 // Two officials with Team Work Ready (TWR), with chiropractic and physical therapy clinics in Texas and Louisiana, have been sentenced for defrauding the federal Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs and United...
Texas Seeks Applicants for Medical Liability Insurance Underwriting Board
Jul 25 2017 // The Texas Department of Insurance is accepting applications through August 31 for the public member positions on the Texas Medical Liability Insurance Underwriting Association Board of Directors. The appointment is for one...
Business Moves
Jul 24 2017 // EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, After Inc. EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property and casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, has acquired After Inc., a product warranty...
2016 Texas Hail Losses Top $5B
Jul 24 2017 // Wind and hail loss information for 2016 released recently by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) show that homeowner losses from hail in Texas were the highest annual losses ever recorded, as they exceeded $5 billion,...
Surplus Lines Market Keeps Up with Demand for Cyber Liability Coverage
Jul 24 2017 // In Texas and across the nation, the surplus lines insurance market is keeping up with the increase in demand for cyber liability protection, according to the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX). SLTX recorded a...
FBI Tracked Nearly 300K Cyberattacks in U.S. in 2016
Jul 24 2017 // The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) last year tracked nearly 300,000 cyberattacks in the United States and those attacks resulted in more than $1.6 billion in total losses. But apparently those numbers...
Milliman: Florida, Louisiana and Texas Would Benefit from Private Flood Insurance
Jul 24 2017 // The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) expires on Sept. 30 and Congress is currently considering legislation to reauthorize and reform the government-backed program through which the majority of U.S. property owners...
People – South Central
Jul 24 2017 // Austin-based Watkins Insurance Group, one of the largest full-service, locally owned independent insurance agencies in central Texas, has added Chris Scott as vice president of Finance. Scott brings to Watkins Insurance...
Texas Bill Would Change Workers’ Comp Medical Causation Report Law
Jul 20 2017 // A medical causation narrative report is one created by a doctor that explains a causal connection, if any, between a compensable workplace injury and the diagnoses or conditions specified in the insurance carrier’s...
Verisk: Texas 2nd in Number of Households at Risk for Wildfire
Jul 20 2017 // The 2017 Verisk Wildfire Risk Analysis shows that Texas is ranked second behind California for the number of households at high or extreme risk from wildfire. The analysis determined the number and percentage of households...
TWFG Honors Top Producers
Jul 20 2017 // Successful insurance agents with The Woodlands, Texas-based TWFG received official recognition and awards during TWFG’s recent convention. President and CEO Gordy Bunch inducted 20 new members into the insurance...
Texas Lawmaker Seeks to Limit Austin’s Construction Site Worker Protections
Jul 19 2017 // Note: This article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. Cesar Ovalde has been working in the construction industry for the better part of 15 years. Most of the time, he’s working on large commercial projects,...
Officials Warn of Spike in Food-Borne Illness in Texas
Jul 19 2017 // State health officials are warning of an increase in Texas in the number of people who’ve contracted a food-borne illness often linked to imported produce. The Department of State Health Services says 68 cases of...
10-Vehicle Wreck in West Texas Blamed on Dust Storm
Jul 19 2017 // Authorities are blaming a zero-visibility dust storm for a 10-vehicle pileup in West Texas that left eight people hurt, including one in critical condition. The Texas Department of Public Safety says the accident happened...
Credit Ratings of Texas’ State Farm Lloyds Upgraded
Jul 18 2017 // A.M. Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to A- (Excellent) from B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “a-” from “bbb+” of State Farm Lloyds in...
Contractor Cuts Texas Oil Pipeline; 1,200 Barrels of Crude Spilled
Jul 17 2017 // Authorities say about 50,000 gallons of crude oil spilled after a contractor accidentally cut an underground pipeline in Central Texas. A spokesman for Magellan Midstream Partners, Bruce Heine, says the contractor was...
