Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Law’s Ambiguity a Source of Mixed Messages Over Texas Cat Claims Statute
Aug 30 2017 // Ambiguity surrounding a Texas law that goes into effect on Sept. 1 has insurance industry representatives and attorneys who represent insurance policyholders sending conflicting messages to insureds who may have suffered...
Harvey Bears Down on Louisiana as Flooding Paralyzes Houston
Aug 30 2017 // Tropical Storm Harvey bore down on Louisiana on Wednesday, pouring down more water after setting rainfall records in Texas that caused catastrophic flooding and paralyzed the U.S. energy hub of Houston. The storm that...
Neighbors Evacuated as Texas Chemical Plant Poses Explosion Risk
Aug 30 2017 // All residents within 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of a chemical plant in southeast Texas were evacuated on Tuesday as a “precautionary measure” on Tuesday because of the rising risk of an explosion, the local fire...
Harvey Update: Trump Vows Model Recovery; Thousands Rescued; Deaths, Costs Increasing
Aug 29 2017 // With Texas still being lashed by rain and rescues still underway, President Donald Trump vowed that the government’s response to Hurricane Harvey would serve as a model for disaster recovery. “We want to be...
Texas Regulators Offer Guidance to Insurers on Harvey Response
Aug 29 2017 // The Texas Department of Insurance has issued several bulletins offering guidance to insurers related to Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall near Rockport, Texas, late on Aug. 25. The bulletins are in response to the...
Insurers Will Easily Swallow Harvey’s Claims but Growing Climate Risk Predicted
Aug 29 2017 // Damages from Hurricane Harvey’s ravaging of Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast are estimated to be well below those from the major storms that hit New Orleans and New York in recent years, insurance executives have...
Harvey’s Insured Losses Hurt Insurers’ Stocks, Could Boost Reinsurers’ Prices
Aug 29 2017 // Hurricane Harvey’s whipsaw of wind and rain across Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast hurt the shares of U.S. property and casualty insurers on Monday as Wall Street analysts estimated insured losses as high as $20...
Key House Chairman Wants Flood Insurance Reforms, Not Just Renewal
Aug 29 2017 // A key Republican said Hurricane Harvey will spur Congress to reach a deal to fund the nation’s flood insurance program before it expires next month, even though divisions persist over how much the federal government...
Trump to Send Congress ‘Very Expensive’ Disaster Aid Request for Harvey Victims
Aug 29 2017 // U.S. lawmakers are expected to pass a large aid package for victims of Hurricane Harvey, but specifics of the plan and its price tag are unclear as Congress awaits a funding request from the Trump administration. Rain...
Harvey Inflicts Even More Death and Destruction as Flood Waters Keep Rising
Aug 29 2017 // Flood waters from Tropical Storm Harvey, which has already killed at least seven people in Texas and was expected to drive tens of thousands from their homes, are likely to rise, officials warned on Monday, as heavy rain...
IIAV ‘Redoubling’ Hurricane Preparedness Efforts Since Following Harvey’s Texas Impact
Aug 28 2017 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia (IIAV) is motivated to “redouble its efforts” around hurricane preparedness, particularly as it relates to flood damage, since following Hurricane Harvey’s...
Harvey’s Catastrophic Costs Mount; Many Lack Adequate Insurance
Aug 28 2017 // Hurricane Harvey’s second act across southern Texas is turning into an economic catastrophe — with damages likely to stretch into tens of billions of dollars and an unusually large share of victims lacking...
Harvey’s Flooding of Houston ‘Beyond Anything Experienced Before’
Aug 28 2017 // Catastrophic flooding triggered by Tropical Storm Harvey inundated Houston on Sunday, forcing residents of the fourth most populous U.S. city to flee their homes in boats or hunker down in anticipation of several more days...
Hurricane Harvey Could Spur Congress to Act on Flood Insurance
Aug 28 2017 // The destruction that heavy rain and floods from Hurricane Harvey could inflict on Texas would add to the pile of debt owed by a federal flood insurance program that is due to expire in September, advocacy groups said. The...
Hurricane Harvey’s Flood Insurance Losses Could Match Katrina’s
Aug 28 2017 // Flood damage in Texas from Hurricane Harvey may equal that from 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, said an insurance research group on Sunday. As heavy rain pounded Houston and...
Hurricane Harvey Shutters Key Oil, Gas Operations in Texas
Aug 27 2017 // Key oil and gas facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast have temporarily shut down as Hurricane Harvey pounds the region with torrential rain and high winds, virtually assuring gasoline prices will rise in the storm’s...
Harvey Smashes Homes, Businesses; Heavy Rain Continues
Aug 27 2017 // Hurricane Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of...
Insurance Adjusters Mobilized to Deal with Harvey Cat Losses
Aug 27 2017 // Teams of insurance adjusters were mobilized Friday in Texas cities closest to Hurricane Harvey’s expected path of destruction. Hurricane Harvey made landfall late Friday evening as a category 4 hurricane. According...
How Hurricane Harvey Is Affecting Catastrophe Bonds
Aug 27 2017 // Bonds tied to weather risks tumbled the most in seven months as Hurricane Harvey advanced on Texas’s Gulf Coast. The Swiss Re Cat Bond Price Return Index dropped 0.44 percent this week, the steepest decline since...
Saturday Update: Hurricane Harvey Expected to Weaken to Tropical Storm
Aug 26 2017 // Early this morning, Hurricane Harvey weakened to a category 1 hurricane as it moved farther inland over southeastern Texas. It continues to bring “life-threatening storm surge, rainfall, and wind hazards to portions...
