Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
People – South Central
Sep 9 2013 // LevelFirst, a wholesale broker and managing general agency based in Dallas, Texas, announced that Brett Biskup has joined the firm as senior vice president. Biskup brings more than 21 years of insurance experience, most...
IIAT’s Small Agency Conference Set for Oct. 6-7 in San Marcos
Sep 6 2013 // Insurance agents and company representatives from across the state will meet Oct. 6-7 in San Marcos at the Embassy Suites San Marcos Hotel, Spa and Conference Center for the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas’ 9th...
Military Contractor KBR Seeks Immunity from Soldiers’ Toxic Exposure Claims
Sep 5 2013 // KBR Inc. is invoking federal laws shielding contractors during wartime in an effort to avoid a Texas trial over injuries claimed by troops who were exposed to toxic chemicals while guarding a work site in Iraq. KBR argued...
Brownsville Remains Texas’ Safest Driving City
Sep 4 2013 // Brownsville drivers are among the best in the country. The Allstate Insurance Company’ ninth annual “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report” lists America’s 200 largest cities in terms of car...
South Texas Counties Among Highest Rates of Uninsured in Nation
Sep 3 2013 // Two South Texas counties have among the highest rates of people without health insurance in the nation, with working Hispanic men in South Texas the most likely to not have coverage, according to data released by the U.S....
10 Years of Tort Reform in Texas Bring Fewer Suits, Lower Payouts
Sep 3 2013 // Ten years after the Texas Legislature capped damages in the state’s medical malpractice lawsuits, the number of suits and the amounts paid out have fallen sharply. The Austin American Statesman reported that...
Court Reverses OK for BP to Access Transocean Insurance to Pay Oil Spill Costs
Aug 29 2013 // A U.S. appeals court withdrew its decision finding BP Plc had access to $750 million in Transocean Ltd.’s insurance to pay costs of the 2010 oil spill, to ask the Texas Supreme Court a question on coverage. The U.S....
No Insurer Assessments for TWIA, for Now
Aug 29 2013 // Despite pleas from officials and policyholders in Texas Gulf Coast communities, the board of the state’s insurer of last resort for wind along the coast has decided not to assess its member insurance companies for...
INSURICA Announces Flurry of Acquisition Activity
Aug 29 2013 // Oklahoma City-based INSURICA Insurance Management Network announced the acquisition of five insurance agencies since December 2012. The multi-state broker had been quiet on the acquisition front since their last major deal...
Texas Fire Marshal: Inspections Refused Since West Blast
Aug 28 2013 // Five facilities in Texas with large quantities of the same fertilizer chemical that fueled the deadly plant explosion in West have turned away state fire marshal inspectors since the blast, investigators said. A railway...
Work-Related Deaths Up in 2012 in Texas
Aug 26 2013 // Texas had more than 500 work-related fatalities in 2012, an increase of more than 20 percent from the previous year. According to preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor of Statistics,...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Offers Underwriting Basics Online Workshop
Aug 23 2013 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) announced it is now offering its Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Underwriting Basics Workshop online. This course, which is open to insurance agency personnel, has...
Insured Losses from Amarillo Hailstorm Climb to $500M
Aug 23 2013 // A massive hailstorm that moved through the Amarillo, Texas, area on May 28 has resulted in $500 million in insured losses to the panhandle region. The final figure was released by the Property Claim Services of the...
Insurance Industry Plans 8th Annual Tour of Texas Coast
Aug 23 2013 // For the eighth year in a row insurance spokesmen will team with the Texas Department of Insurance and meteorologists from the National Weather Service to advise Texas coastal residents of the potential dangers of...
Judges Reject Challenge to Texas State Farm Rates
Aug 21 2013 // Two administrative law judges have rejected a consumer challenge to a recent 20-percent rate hike for Texas homeowners covered by State Farm Lloyd’s. The judges decided on Aug. 19 that the premiums for 1.2 million...
Texas Cabinet Manufacturer Fined $267K for Severe Work Hazards
Aug 19 2013 // Federal officials have cited a San Antonio, Texas-based cabinet manufacturer with 29 safety and health violations and a proposed penalty of $267,434. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health...
Texas Workers’ Comp Commissioner Appoints New Medical Advisor
Aug 19 2013 // Texas Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Rod Bordelon has appointed Dr. David Davis as the medical advisor for the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC), effective Aug....
Human Activity Muddies Causes of Texas Floods
Aug 14 2013 // Periodic flooding in Texas — one the most flood-prone states in the nation — cannot be firmly linked to climate change due to numerous dams and other man-made structures introduced over the years, according to a...
Public Meeting on Texas Windstorm Insurance Issues Announced
Aug 13 2013 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced that a public meeting of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association expert panel will be held Aug. 22 from 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm in Austin. The purpose of the meeting is to...
Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association Rates to Rise
Aug 12 2013 // Rates charged for private passenger automobile insurance provided through the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA) will increase overall by 5.6 percent, the Texas Department of Insurance reports. New rates...
