Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Review: Hispanic, Black Drivers More Likely to Be Searched in Texas
Dec 9 2015 // An analysis of Texas traffic stops shows Hispanic and black drivers are far more likely to be searched by Department of Public Safety troopers, despite DPS assertions that all motorists are treated equally. The review of...
Texas Safety Officials: Nearly 16K Vehicles Stolen in December 2014
Dec 9 2015 // The Texas Department of Public Safety says the potential for vehicle thefts is high in December. The DPS reported that 5,717 automobiles, pickups and motorcycles were recorded stolen in December 2014, making it one of the...
2015- Modernization in the Non-Admitted Market
Dec 9 2015 // Dallas, TX, December 9, 2015- 2015 has been a big year for mergers and acquisitions in our industry. You read consolidation news everyday…Willis to buy Towers Watson…Confie acquires another broker…Gen...
Texas State Fire Marshal Report: Fire Occurred Every 7 Minutes in 2014
Dec 8 2015 // In 2014, 957 fire departments in Texas reported 72,124 fires, with a fire occurring every seven minutes, 163 civilian fire deaths, 780 civilian fire injuries and $662,625,954 in property, according to a report from the...
Signature Select Expands into Texas with New Hires in Austin, Dallas
Dec 7 2015 // Signature Select LLC announced it has expanded into Texas by establishing a presence in Austin and Dallas. In Dallas, Shelly Floyd and Cliff Layfield have been hired for the Dallas operation and Patrick Datz was added as a...
People – South Central
Dec 7 2015 // Houston-based Columbia Lloyds Insurance Co., a provider of homeowners and tenant dwelling insurance throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, appointed John R. Todd as president and chief executive officer, and Shabbir...
Spring Storms Rack Up More than $1.5B in Losses in Texas
Dec 7 2015 // Storms during April and May in Texas caused more than $1.5 billion in property losses, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. ICT spokesman Mark Hanna says paid residential property losses in April and May were close...
OSHA: Texas Workers Exposed to Asbestos at Construction Site
Dec 4 2015 // Federal safety regulators say three commercial real estate renovators have been cited for a combined $112,000 in penalties for exposing workers to asbestos hazards at a San Antonio, Texas, worksite. FBZ Broadway LP, One...
Furniture Maker, Staffing Agency Fined $161K for Texas Workplace Hazards
Dec 4 2015 // Furniture manufacturer, MooreCo Inc., and Milwaukee-based Manpower Group US Inc., a staffing agency, have been cited by federal safety regulators for exposing temporary workers to workplace hazards at a MooreCo plant in...
King Appointed to Texas Windstorm Insurance Board
Dec 3 2015 // Texas Commissioner of Insurance David Mattax has appointed Deborah King to the board of directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). King of Highland Village is vice president and chief actuary at...
Texas Firm to Pay Over $3M to Settle Ambulance Kickback Claims
Dec 2 2015 // A Texas company that operates nursing care facilities will pay nearly $3.2 million to settle allegations of receiving kickbacks from ambulance companies. Regent Management Services of Galveston oversees 11 nursing...
Texas Mutual Distributes $3M in Early Qualifier Dividends
Dec 1 2015 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. has paid more than $3 million in early qualifier dividends to approximately 4,000 newer workers’ compensation insurance policyholder owners across the state. This payout is the final...
Best, Worst States for Insurance Regulation
Dec 1 2015 // Vermont, Utah, Iowa, Virginia and Kentucky get an “A” and North Carolina an “F” in one think tank’s annual grading of states on how they regulate the property/casualty insurance industry. The...
Former Texas Agent Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Faces 20 Years in Prison
Nov 30 2015 // A 64-year-old former Texas insurance agent has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering, federal prosecutors say, and faces up to 20 years in prison for what amounted to a Ponzi scheme. U.S. Attorney John M. Bales...
Texas Insurance Group Says to Lock, Take, Hide on Black Friday
Nov 25 2015 // The Insurance Council of Texas is warning shoppers about possible vehicle break-ins on the Black Friday shopping holiday. Criminals will be intent on burglarizing vehicles that may have been left unlocked or simply have...
15 Texas Counties Receive Disaster Declarations from October Storms
Nov 25 2015 // Fifteen Texas counties have been declared state disaster areas after October storms and flooding left seven people dead. Gov. Greg Abbott’s disaster declaration covers Bastrop, Brazoria, Caldwell, Comal, Galveston,...
Texas Sees Continued Increase in Vehicle Crashes, Fatalities
Nov 23 2015 // For the fourth year in a row, the numbers of vehicle crashes in Texas involving both injuries and fatalities have risen, an insurance trade group reported. Both numbers began rising dramatically in 2012, when Texas highway...
Liberty Insurance Must Pay Attorneys’ Fees in Gulf Oil Spill Case
Nov 23 2015 // A federal appeals court has ruled against an insurer in its quest to avoid paying attorneys’ fees in litigation stemming from 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in...
States Graded ‘A’ to ‘F’ for Extreme Weather Preparedness
Nov 20 2015 // Many states across the country are unprepared to face the risks posed extreme heat, drought, wildfires, inland flooding, coastal flooding and other extreme weather events, according to a new report card. Only a small...
Texas Agent CE Requirements Changed with Passage of SB876
Nov 19 2015 // Senate Bill 876, passed during the 2015 Texas legislative session, reduced the required credit hours for continuing education (CE) for agent and adjuster license renewals to 24 hours for each two-year renewal period and...
