Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tornado-Spawning Storm System Killed 3 in Midwest, Moved Eastward
Mar 2 2017 // A spring-like storm system that killed at least three people as it spawned tornadoes and damaged dozens of homes in the central U.S. rumbled eastward on March 1, putting about 95 million people in its path, forecasters...
Texas High Court Finds for Insurer in D&O Coverage Dispute
Mar 1 2017 // The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of an insurer in a case that hinged on the applicability of an insured-v.-insured exclusion in the carrier’s directors and officers (D&O) liability policy. The...
Texas Bill Would End ‘Wrongful Birth’ Suits Against Doctors
Feb 28 2017 // Texans would no longer be allowed to sue doctors for a “wrongful birth” under a bill approved unanimously by the Senate State Affairs Committee. According to the announcement released by the Senate, wrongful...
Officials: Drone Interrupted Texas Wildfire Control Efforts
Feb 26 2017 // State fire officials say a drone being operated near a wildfire southwest of Fort Worth hampered firefighting efforts by forcing aircraft carrying retardant to be grounded. The Texas A&M Forest Service says two air...
Texas Bill Seeks Limits on Hailstorm Lawsuits
Feb 24 2017 // A bill has been filed in the Texas Senate that seeks to curb what the authors of the legislation say is a skyrocketing number of lawsuits filed against insurers for bogus or inflated hailstorm claims. Senate Bill 10, filed...
Brinson Takes Over as President of Texas Surplus Lines Assoc.
Feb 24 2017 // Teri Brinson, executive vice president of M.D. Jensvold & Co., has taken over as president of the Texas Surplus Lines Association (TSLA) for 2017. She brings more than 35 years of experience and leadership in the...
Texas Neurosurgeon Gets Life Sentence for Maiming Patients
Feb 22 2017 // Jurors on Feb. 20 sentenced a former Dallas neurosurgeon to life in prison for maiming patients who had turned to him for surgery to resolve debilitating injuries. The decision came almost a week after the Dallas County...
Despite Increase in Lawsuits, Texas Homeowner Insurance Complaints Remain Low
Feb 21 2017 // Despite a half million hail claims resulting in a record $4 billion in insured losses last year, homeowner complaints to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) were the lowest number ever recorded, the Insurance Council...
Texas Stamping Office Updates Eligible Surplus Lines Insurers List
Feb 20 2017 // The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) has identified changes to the list of eligible surplus lines insurers in the state. Approved eligible insurers effective Jan. 1, 2017, include alien insurers Lloyd’s...
Texas Offers Grace Period for Workers’ Comp Nonsubscribers
Feb 20 2017 // The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) is offering a temporary grace period to those employers who have not met workers’ compensation reporting requirements in the past — allowing them to...
Texas Governor Deems Hailstorm Litigation ‘Lawsuit Abuse’
Feb 20 2017 // In his state of the state address, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gave a boost to the insurance industry’s effort to get legislation passed that would place limits on post-hailstorm litigation. Calling lawsuits against...
Texas Supreme Court Sides with Policyholder in Ike-Damaged Property Case
Feb 20 2017 // When is a fence a “dwelling” structure for insurance coverage purposes and when is it an “other structure?” The Texas Supreme Court, relying on disputed language in a Liberty Mutual Insurance Co....
ATF: South Texas Mosque Fire Was Arson
Feb 20 2017 // A fire that destroyed a South Texas mosque has been ruled arson, but federal investigators found no early evidence of a hate crime. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Houston did not reveal the...
Texas Mutual Insurance, VFIS of Texas, Distribute $228K in Grants to First Responders
Feb 17 2017 // Workers’ compensation insurance provider, Texas Mutual Insurance Co., and VFIS of Texas have distributed $228,000 in grant money to 90 volunteer fire departments and nonprofit emergency medical service (EMS)...
Phillips Appointed Chair of Texas House Insurance Committee
Feb 17 2017 // Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus has appointed Rep. Larry Phillips, District 62, as chair of the Texas House of Representatives Insurance Committee for the 85th session of the Texas Legislature. This position was...
Polluted Waste Pits Along Texas’ San Jacinto River Bring Lawsuits
Feb 16 2017 // Rick Kornele and Charles Rayburn fished and crabbed as small boys on a sand bar near a popular boat ramp on the San Jacinto River — a site today blocked off by an imposing chain-link fence that’s plastered with...
Texas a Leader in Fatal Crashes, Alcohol-Impaired Driving
Feb 15 2017 // Texas highways continue to be a deadly form of travel as traffic crashes involving injuries and fatalities continue to rise. Last year, 3,390 traffic crashes resulted in 3,757 fatalities and 175,347 traffic crashes...
R Street Applauds Texas Bill to Rein in Hail Claims
Feb 13 2017 // The R Street Institute applauded the introduction today of S.B. 10, legislation to rein in the growth in Texas hail-related litigation. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, would provide...
Texas High Court Sides with Policyholder in Ike-Damaged Property Case
Feb 13 2017 // When is a fence a “dwelling” structure for insurance coverage purposes and when is it an “other structure?” The Texas Supreme Court, relying on disputed language in a Liberty Mutual Insurance Co....
Central Texas Now Has Air Tanker Base to Help Fight Wildfires
Feb 10 2017 // State Rep. John Cyrier (Lockhart) announced the establishment of a portable air tanker base at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) capable of equipping large, Type 1 air tankers to drop fire retardant during...
