Latest Texas Headlines

All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.

RiskMeter.com Adds Texas Wildfire Report to Service

Jan 11 2012 // RiskMeter.com, a provider of real-time natural hazard risk reports, has added a Texas wildfire report to its service. This report will return a property’s proximity to wildfire risk by simply entering an address or...

2012 Brings Operational Changes for Texas Windstorm Insurer

Jan 10 2012 // The New Year ushered in changes to the operation of Texas’s insurance company of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast. Many of the operational changes will affect insurance agents who handle Texas...

Texas Governor Renews Drought Disaster Declaration

Jan 9 2012 // Gov. Rick Perry has renewed a proclamation declaring Texas a disaster due to the drought. Perry renewed the proclamation on Dec. 27, a year after he initially declared the drought a disaster. The proclamation allows...

Texas Insurer Acquires Florida’s Physicians Insurance

Jan 9 2012 // The Texas Medical Liability Trust has acquired the Florida-based Physicians Insurance Co. The Deerfield Beach, Florida-based Physicians Insurance has been operating in the state since 2003. According to a 2011 Office of...

Declarations

Jan 9 2012 // No Single Answer “Distracted driving is a serious problem and in our increasingly mobile world, it is becoming the norm. As we have seen with other motor safety issues such as seatbelt use and drunk driving, there is...

2012 Brings Operational Changes for TWIA

Jan 9 2012 // The New Year is ushering in changes to the operation of the insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast. Many of the operational changes will affect insurance agents who handle Texas Windstorm Insurance...

Business Moves

Jan 9 2012 // Frost Insurance, Stone Partners Texas-based Frost Insurance acquired Stone Partners Inc., a human resource consulting firm that specializes in compensation, benefits and outsourcing services, effective Jan. 1. Stone...

Higher Homeowners Insurance Rates on the Horizon in Texas

Jan 9 2012 // Two insurers that together hold the lion’s share of the homeowners insurance market in Texas are either in the process of raising rates or have filed for increases. Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman on Dec. 1,...

People

Jan 9 2012 // Southwestern Insurance Information Service elected Lyndell Haigood, regional vice president of State Auto Insurance, as chairman of the board; David Lacefield, executive vice president, National Lloyds Insurance, as vice...

TDECU Insurance Agency Acquires Associated Insurance Advisors

Jan 6 2012 // TDECU Insurance Agency LLC announced the acquisition of Associated Insurance Agency Inc. (AIA) based in Houston, Texas. The purchase was finalized Jan. 3, 2012. Associated Insurance Agency is an independent insurance...

La Nina to Linger to Spring

Jan 5 2012 // La Nina, the weather phenomenon widely blamed for withering drought in the southwestern United States and South America, may last longer than expected, into the Northern Hemisphere spring, the U.S. Climate Prediction...

SEC Sues Texas Life Settlements Firm, Alleges Deception

Jan 5 2012 // Federal securities regulators filed suit against a Texas-based provider of so-called “life settlements,” accusing it and three top executives of defrauding shareholders by overvaluing the life insurance...

Leal, Pekar Join Texas-Based TDECU Insurance Agency

Jan 4 2012 // Vickie Leal and Kathleen Pekar have joined TDECU Insurance Agency LLC in Lake Jackson, Texas, as the agency’s newest licensed agents. Leal is serving the insurance needs of community and credit union members in...

Texas-Based Barhorst Insurance Group Rebrands as Iscential

Dec 30 2011 // Houston-based insurance agency, Barhorst Insurance Group (BIG), announced it is beginning the new year with a new name: Iscential. The rebranding initiative includes a new name, logo and tagline that represent the...

Texas Windpool E-Quote System to Be Disabled Dec. 30 – Jan. 3

Dec 29 2011 // Changes in the billing and commission program at Texas’ insurer of last resort for coastal property will prompt a shut down of the agency’s E-Quote system over the long New Year holiday weekend. Due to the...

Texas Work Comp Discount, Interest Rate Set for Q1 2012

Dec 29 2011 // The workers’ compensation interest and discount rate in Texas for the first quarter of 2012 has been set at 3.61 percent. The rate will be effective beginning Jan. 1, 2012, through Mar. 31, 2012, the Texas Department...

Genstar Capital Acquires Innovative Aftermarket Systems of Texas

Dec 26 2011 // San Francisco-based private equity firm Genstar Capital, LLC said it has acquired Innovative Aftermarket Systems, which underwrites and markets motor vehicle protection products and related services sold through franchised...

Texas House Members Object to Medical Loss Ratio Waiver Request

Dec 22 2011 // A group of lawmakers in Texas are urging the state’s insurance commissioner to withdraw a request for a waiver to the medical loss ratio (MLR) provision in the federal health insurance reform law. They say the...

Study: Reforms Impacted Growth in Texas Workers’ Comp Claim Costs

Dec 21 2011 // The average cost of a workers’ compensation claim in Texas grew 5 percent in 2009, reflecting the impact of recent medical fee schedule increases and possibly some effect of the recession, according to a new study by...

EPA Reports Suggests Asbestos Exposure in Texas

Dec 21 2011 // An experimental asbestos demolition method used to tear down a Fort Worth, Texas, apartment building four years ago may have exposed workers and the public to carcinogenic fibers, the Environmental Protection Agency...