Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Sets Workers’ Comp Maximum Weekly Benefit at $895
Sep 24 2015 // The workers’ compensation state average weekly wage for dates of injury from Oct. 1, 2015, through Sept. 30, 2016, has been set by the Texas Department of Insurance’s Division of Workers’ Compensation at...
Texas Goes From Drought to Flood to Drought in 60 Days
Sep 23 2015 // Across eastern Texas, parts of Louisiana and Mississippi the land went from moist to parched in a matter of weeks. Drought, which had been eradicated in Texas last spring, returned and spread across the South, reaching as...
Pier 1 Imports Fined $86K for Safety Hazards at 2 Texas Sites
Sep 23 2015 // Pier 1 Imports Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for workplace safety hazards at facilities in Fort Worth and Mansfield, Texas. Proposed...
Royalty Lawsuits Against Chesapeake Consolidated in Texas
Sep 22 2015 // More than 400 lawsuits have been consolidated in Texas, where energy drilling giant Chesapeake Operating Inc. is accused of withholding more than $1 billion in royalty payments from about 25,000 property owners. “The...
The Hartford’s Nelligan Named Chairman of IICF’s Texas/Southeast Division
Sep 22 2015 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) has named Tim Nelligan, central division executive for The Hartford, as chairman of its Texas/Southeast division board of directors. Nelligan assumes the chairmanship...
Judge Blocks Texas Company’s Attempt to Shield $600K from Disabled Workers
Sep 21 2015 // U.S. District Chief Judge Jorge A. Solis issued an order on Sept. 11, 2015, to override a confidential settlement that would have re-directed nearly $600,000 away from a class of 32 intellectually disabled former employees...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Assoc. Seeks Hike in Liability Limits
Sep 21 2015 // The Texas Department of Insurance will hold a public hearing on a request by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association to increase maximum policy liability limits. The hearing under Docket No. 2780 will be held at 10:30...
Texas OKs 11 Companies to Self-Insure for Workers’ Comp
Sep 21 2015 // The Texas Department of Insurance’s Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) re-certified 11 employers to self-insure workers’ compensation claims. Together, the companies employ about 50,000 people in...
Texas Surplus Line Stamping Fee Rate to Increase Jan. 1
Sep 21 2015 // The surplus lines stamping fee rate in Texas will increase next year to 0.15 percent of the gross premium amount of surplus lines insurance policies, the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLSOT) reported. The...
Remembering Myron F. Steves Sr.
Sep 21 2015 // Myron Fuller Steves Sr., founder of the Texas independent managing general agency and wholesale insurance broker, Myron Steves, passed away on Aug. 29, 2015, at the age of 103. Myron was born in Atlanta, Ga., in 1912....
People – South Central
Sep 21 2015 // The Texas-based agency partnership, Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA), is expanding into Nebraska and elected Rick Elliott to serve as central regional vice president. Elliott is the owner and president of Elliott...
Texas Court Rules for Former Energy Executive in D&O Dispute
Sep 18 2015 // The Texas 14th Court of Appeals this week ruled in favor of former energy executive in a legal fight over whether the company’s director and officer insurer should have paid to defend or indemnify the executive as...
Lawsuit Filed Against County, Deputies in Fatal Shooting of Texas Man
Sep 17 2015 // Relatives have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the fatal shooting of a South Texas man by two deputies while both of his hands were raised. The incident was recorded on at least two videos. Gilbert Flores’ family...
Fraud Ruling Against Texas Doctor Stands
Sep 16 2015 // The Austin (Texas) Court of Appeals has upheld felony workers’ compensation fraud-related charges against Howard T. Douglas III, M.D., for using his company — Western Medical Evaluators — to deliberately overbill...
Mitchell to Head Information & Technology Services at Texas Stamping Office
Sep 15 2015 // The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLSOT) has appointed Tara N. Mitchell as director of Information & Technology Services. Her appointment is effective Sept. 21, 2015. For the past seven years, Mitchell has...
Texas AG: Residential Underwriting Guidelines Not Confidential
Sep 15 2015 // The Office of the Attorney General of Texas (OAG) has issued an open records ruling indicating that residential property underwriting guidelines are not made confidential by Insurance Code, Section 38.002, the Texas...
Vista Equity Buying Texas Insurance Claim Software Provider
Sep 15 2015 // Solera, based in Westlake, Texas, is being acquired by an affiliate of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners for about $3.74 billion in cash. The company, which makes insurance claims software, said in August that it...
Texas Associates Insurors Adds Steanson in Austin
Sep 14 2015 // Texas Associates Insurors added J.D. Steanson as its newest risk and insurance advisor, specializing in commercial contractor, home construction contractor and trade contractor risk assessment. Steanson is a member and has...
Texas Oil Wells Services Company Cited for Rig Fatalities
Sep 10 2015 // Federal safety officials have cited a Texas oil well services company in the deaths of three workers killed while working to install a blowout preventer, which seals, controls and monitors a rig. The Occupational Safety...
TDI Posts Summary of Bills Affecting Property/Casualty Insurers
Sep 9 2015 // The Texas Department of Insurance has produced a summary of various bills passed by the Texas Legislature this year that impact property/casualty insurance companies. Many but not all of the following were effective Sept....
