Latest Texas Headlines

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

Texas House Committee OKs Changes to Windstorm Insurance Bill

Jun 9 2011 // A Texas House of Representatives committee has approved big changes to the insurance authority that covers coastal properties for wind and hail. The House Insurance Committee passed a bill overhauling the Texas Windstorm...

Foundation Financial Group Expanding in North Texas

Jun 8 2011 // Foundation Financial Group announced it is adding new jobs to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The group is opening a new location at 1903 Central Drive in Bedford, Texas, between Fort Worth and Dallas. The company specializes...

Texas Windstorm Insurance Issue Added to Special Session

Jun 7 2011 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry has added legislation relating to the operation of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association as an issue to be addressed during the special session of the Legislature that began on May 31. “It...

William Gammon Insurance, Higginbotham & Associates Join Forces

Jun 7 2011 // Texas-based independent insurance agencies William Gammon Insurance and Higginbotham & Associates have merged. The combined company has more than 500 professionals providing insurance, risk management and employee...

Ott Named President, CEO of Texas Medical Liability Trust

Jun 7 2011 // Austin, Texas-based Texas Medical Liability Trust (TMLT) announced that Charles R. (Chip) Ott Jr. will assume leadership of TMLT as president and chief executive officer beginning in late July. He will replace current...

Late May Storms to Cost Insurers Up to $7 Billion: AIR

Jun 6 2011 // The severe thunderstorms that struck the United States from May 20 to the 27 will result in insured losses to residential, commercial, and industrial properties and their contents, and to automobiles of between $4 billion...

Business Moves

Jun 6 2011 // Hub, The Transportation Group Hub International Ltd. (Hub) has acquired The Transportation Group Ltd. (TTG), a Dallas and Houston, Texas-based brokerage firm that specializes in insurance and risk management for the...

Demise of Windstorm Association Overhaul Leads to Special Session in Texas

Jun 6 2011 // Texas lawmakers were unable to come to terms on an overhaul of the state-backed insurer for property along the Texas coast, so they’ll return to Austin in July to try again. Their failure to deal with school finance,...

Certificate of Insurance Bill Sent to Texas Governor

Jun 6 2011 // The Texas Legislature has passed a measure that requires regulatory approval of property and casualty certificate of insurance forms provided to insureds as proof of coverage. Insurance agents are frequently asked to...

Texas Supreme Court Reaffirms Right to Appraisal

Jun 6 2011 // The Decision May Lead to More, Not Less, Litigation, However In the wake of Hurricanes Rita, Dolly and Ike, and the inevitable ensuing litigation, many arguments over appraisal provisions surfaced. Most property policies...

Insurer Groups Say Windstorm Issue Must be Addressed in Texas

Jun 2 2011 // The Texas Legislature, which adjourned its regular session on May 30, passed a number of bills of interest to the property and casualty insurance industry, including tort reform legislation and a measure requiring that...

Texas Insurance Executive Named President of Surety Bond Producers Association

Jun 1 2011 // John M. Rindt, executive vice president of the Surety Division of JDW Insurance, an El Paso, Texas-based insurance agency, has been installed as the president of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers...

Use of Credit-based Insurance Scores Upheld in Texas

Jun 1 2011 // Texas law permits an insurer to use race-neutral factors in credit scoring to price personal lines of insurance. That’s the conclusion the Texas Supreme Court came to in considering a certified question from the...

Demise of Windstorm Agency Overhaul Prompts Special Session in Texas

May 31 2011 // Texas lawmakers were unable to come to terms on an overhaul of the state-backed insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast, so they’ll be returning to Austin in July to try again. Their failure to...

Certificates of Insurance Bill Heads to Texas Governor

May 31 2011 // The Texas Legislature has passed a measure that requires regulatory approval of property and casualty certificate of insurance forms provided to insureds as proof of coverage. Certificates of insurance are widely used in...

Homeowners of America Insurance Names Rosentraub CFO

May 27 2011 // Homeowners of America Insurance Co., based in Irving, Texas, has named Michael C. Rosentraub as chief financial officer. Rosentraub has over 20 years of experience in the insurance and financial services industries in the...

Texas Mutual to Distribute $155M in Policyholder Dividends

May 26 2011 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. plans to distribute $155 million in workers’ compensation dividends in 2011. Dividends reward loyal policyholders who share Texas Mutual’s commitment to preventing workplace accidents...

Multiple Storms Pound North Texas with Large Hail

May 26 2011 // The Dallas Fort Worth area was once again ground zero for a series of severe thunderstorms that pounded the area with baseball size hail on May 24. Four inch hail was reported in several cities including Irving, Carrolton,...

Combined Agents of America Elects Shropshire Chairman for 2011

May 25 2011 // Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA), based in Austin, Texas, has elected John V. Shropshire Jr., CEO of The Shropshire Agency in Lubbock, Texas, as its new chairman for 2011-2012. CAA’s new 2011-12 Management...

Domestic Outsourcing Services for Insurance Agencies Launched in Texas

May 25 2011 // Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas (IIAD) Staffing Services division has teamed up with Work At Home Vintage Employees LLC (WAHVE) to provide domestic outsourcing services to supply back-office support to insurance...