Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
FEMA Defends Lack of Disaster Declaration Over Texas Wildfires
May 5 2011 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency defended its decision to refuse more assistance for Texas in the wake of devastating wildfires, saying that the state has already received sufficient U.S. government help. Gov. Rick...
Texas Continues Crack Down on Late Surplus Line Filings
May 4 2011 // Among the enforcement actions for March 2011 announced by the Texas Department of Insurance are a number of fines imposed on surplus lines wholesalers for failing to report surplus line premium in a timely...
Texas Supreme Court: Public Entities Immune from Retaliatory Discharge Claims
May 3 2011 // A ruling by the Texas Supreme Court will make it more difficult for former employees of public entities to pursue retaliatory discharge claims against those employers. The Court has held that a political subdivision has...
Higher Humidity Readings Aid Texas Wildfire Crews
May 3 2011 // Higher humidity readings in West Texas have given an assist to crew battling wildfires in the arid reaches of West Texas. Federal firefighting team spokeswoman Diane Steltz said no structures were lost or threatened on May...
Federal Fire Crews Bring Expertise to Huge West Texas Fire
May 2 2011 // In firefighting circles, they are considered the best of the best. Hotshots, they’re called — a specially trained assortment of federal firefighters tasked with battling the most stubborn blazes in the most rugged...
Business Losses Due to ‘Action’ by Civil Authorities: When Is There Coverage?
May 2 2011 // Virtually all insurance policies contain provisions and exclusions dealing with events that most insureds consider so remote and unlikely that they rarely give any thought to their possible occurrence, much less what...
Texas Wildfires Fueled by High Winds, Drought
May 2 2011 // Firefighters continued in late April to make gradual progress containing massive, wind-whipped wildfires that raged across Texas during the month. West Texas firefighters rushed to finish controlled burns in the Ft. Davis...
People
May 2 2011 // Dallas-based insurance brokerage firm Roach Howard Smith & Barton (RHSB) appointed Tom A. Hughston as its new CEO. Hughston, previously the company’s executive vice president, is an established leader in the...
Texas Insurance Veteran Sees Opportunity in Growing Hispanic Market
Apr 29 2011 // With 30 years of industry experience under his belt, one Texas-based insurance executive decided it was time to open his own operation to serve the insurance needs of the growing Hispanic population. While Dallas-based...
Brodbeck Named Trusted Choice Hometown Hero in Texas
Apr 28 2011 // The Indpendent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) has named Randy Brodbeck of the Adams Insurance Agency in Johnson City as its newest Trusted Choice Hometown Hero. The Hometown Hero program recognizes Trusted Choice...
Hail Storm Slams Abilene, Brings Some Relief to Wildfire Area
Apr 26 2011 // Baseball size hail hit Abilene, Texas, on April 24 causing property damage to vehicles, homes and businesses. Hail fell from a line of storms that passed over the southern half of the city and continued to move eastward...
Firefighters in Texas Continue Battle, Worry About Weather
Apr 25 2011 // Firefighters continued to make gradual progress containing massive, wind-whipped wildfires that raged across Texas on April 23, while expressing worry that a change in the weather early next week could spark a new...
Automotive Group Earns $211K Texas Mutual Dividend
Apr 22 2011 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced a $211,381 dividend to the Texas Automotive group purchase program. The group’s second consecutive workers’ compensation dividend was based largely on its overall loss...
Fort Worth CPCU Scholarships Benefit Univ. of N. Texas Students
Apr 22 2011 // The Fort Worth Chapter of CPCU announced that during the past 14 years, it has donated $181,000 in total scholarships to University of North Texas students in the Risk Management and Insurance program. The group recently...
Austin Attorney Receives ‘Insurance Legend’ Award
Apr 22 2011 // As part of its Advanced Insurance Law Seminar, the Insurance Law Section of the State Bar of Texas honored Austin-lawyer Joe K. Longley as the recipient of its 2011 Insurance Legend Award. This Award is given annually by...
Wildfires Continue in Texas; More than 1.8M Acres Burned This Year
Apr 21 2011 // Wildfire approaching McDonald Observatory near Ft. Davis, Texas. Photo by: Frank Cianciolo / McDonald Observatory As wildfires continue to rage in almost every region of the state, the Texas Forest Service reports that...
Third Hailstorm in Two Weeks Pounds North Texas Area
Apr 21 2011 // A severe line of thunderstorms extending 100 miles pounded portions of north central Texas this week producing hail as large as tennis balls. The line extended from Denton to Hillsboro. The communities of Itasca and...
Texas Science Panel Adopts Arson Recommendations
Apr 20 2011 // A state panel in Texas has recommended more education and training for fire investigators following its review of a case involving a Texas inmate executed after a fire labeled arson killed his three daughters. The Texas...
Austin, Texas, Fire Contained; 18 Homes Damaged
Apr 19 2011 // A wildfire in Austin, Texas, believed to have been sparked by a homeless man’s campfire, has burned 100 acres and damaged at least 18 homes. Austin Fire Department spokesman Chayer Smith said he expected the damage...
South Central States Assess Damage from Recent Storms
Apr 18 2011 // Tornadoes, violent thunderstorms, high wind and hail struck large swaths of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas last week and now those states are beginning the process of assessing the damage. In Arkansas, storms...
