Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Agents Donate $200K to Texas Volunteer Fire Departments
Sep 14 2011 // Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) and its Trusted Choice agents have donated a total of $200,000 to the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association (SFFMA) to assist volunteer fire...
State Farm Seeks 10% Homeowners Rate Hike in Texas
Sep 14 2011 // State Farm Insurance has filed notice seeking an average 10 percent increase in Texas homeowner rates. But company officials say discounts will be boosted to hold the actual premium hike to 1.4 percent statewide. The...
Nearly 2,000 Homes Destroyed in Texas Since Labor Day Weekend
Sep 13 2011 // The Texas Forest Service reports that an estimated 1,939 homes have been destroyed in the state by wildfires since the Labor Day weekend. The insured losses from the Bastrop County Complex fires alone could reach $150...
How Can Insurance Agents Help the Texas Fire Victims?
Sep 13 2011 // As fires tear through Texas, businesses and homeowners struggle to determine their losses. According to the Insurance Council of Texas, this year’s fire losses are Texas’ worst on record. The Texas Forest...
President Obama Signs Disaster Aid for Texas Wildfires
Sep 12 2011 // President Barack Obama has signed a federal disaster declaration for Texas in the wake of wildfires in the state. The move allows federal funding to be made available to individuals in Bastrop County in the central part of...
String of Wildfires Takes Toll on Texas Firefighters
Sep 12 2011 // The flames of the massive wildfire that had swallowed nearly 1,400 homes in Central Texas had been tamed, but Webster Fire Chief Patrick Shipp and his crew — veterans of a fire season pushing his team to the limit —...
Texas Wildfires Evacuees Anxious to Return Home
Sep 11 2011 // After spending nearly a week wondering whether his home had been destroyed in massive wildfires sweeping across Central Texas, George Gaydos got the news Sept. 10: His house had burned down in the blaze. But Gaydos — who...
Texas Mutual Rewards CompGroup AGC with $773K Dividend
Sep 8 2011 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced a $772,782 dividend to the CompGroup AGC. The workers’ compensation safety group dividend was based largely on the group’s overall loss ratio. CompGroup AGC members have...
Texas Fires Kill 4, Destroy More Than 1,600 Homes
Sep 8 2011 // One of the most devastating wildfire outbreaks in Texas history has left more than 1,600 homes in ruins and stretched the state’s firefighting ranks to the limit, confronting Gov. Rick Perry with a major disaster at...
Ratings: Commerce Protective, Stonington/Lantana, Farmers Mutual, One Beacon Lloyd’s, Texas Medical
Sep 8 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating to ‘B+’ (Good) from ‘B++’ (Good) and issuer credit rating to ‘bbb-‘ from ‘bbb’ of Pennsylvania-based Commerce...
Arlington, Texas Officials Settle Taser Suit for $25,000
Sep 7 2011 // City officials in Arlington, Texas, have settled a lawsuit for $25,000 after a police officer mistakenly used a Taser twice while pursuing the wrong man. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that the lawsuit stemmed from...
Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Multiple Arsons, Attempted Murder
Sep 7 2011 // Steven Scott Cantrell, of Crane, Texas, pled guilty to hate crime charges stemming from a series of racially-motivated arsons in December 2010, including the arson of a historic African-American church as part of an effort...
Central Texas Fires Slowly Being Contained but Blazes Continue Across State
Sep 7 2011 // Three out of four of the main fires burning on the outskirts of Texas’ capitol city, Austin, have been mostly contained, officials say, but the largest and most destructive blazes in Bastrop County are only about 30...
Texas July Enforcements Include $391K in Fines, Restitution
Sep 6 2011 // The Texas Department of Insurance enforcement actions that became final during July 2011 include two license revocations, one license denial and fines and restitution totaling $391,308. An order imposing disciplinary...
Wildfires Burn Across Texas; Weekend Losses Expected to Top $100M
Sep 6 2011 // While Tropical Storm Lee drenched Southeast Louisiana with up to 15 inches of rain over the weekend, the low pressure system whipped up strong northwesterly winds across Texas that are blamed for the rapid spread of...
Austin-based Insurance Agency Volunteers as Fire Victim Donation Site
Sep 6 2011 // Watkins Insurance Group in Austin, Texas, has established a donation drop-off site to help victims of the Central Texas fires. Located at 3834 Spicewood Springs Road, items are being collected in the agency’s lobby...
Legislative Changes Aim to Limit Texas Windstorm Lawsuits
Sep 5 2011 // Legislative changes to the operation of Texas’ primary property insurer in coastal areas that go into effect Sept. 28, 2011, include an increased focus on mediation and arbitration of disputed windstorm claims and a...
Texas Supreme Court: Bad Faith Claim Inconsistent with Worker’s Comp
Sep 5 2011 // The Texas Supreme Court has concluded that while bad faith claims against workers’ compensation carriers are not permissible under the state’s insurance code, claims made under the code against insurers for...
Most Doctors Sued Sometime in Career
Sep 5 2011 // A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine says that one in 14 doctors faces a malpractice suit every year. Moreover, almost every physician will face a malpractice suit — or more than one — during...
Lower Medical Liability Rates
Sep 5 2011 // Texas Medical Liability Trust announced a rate reduction for TMLT policyholders and an 18.5 percent dividend for renewing policyholders, effective Jan.1, 2012. The average rate decrease will be 6.9 percent, but will vary...
