Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas’ Adoption of Pharmacy Fee Guidelines Averts Delivery Disruption
Dec 30 2010 // Texas Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Rod Bordelon recently signed an emergency rule adopting amendments to the workers’ comp pharmacy fee guideline. According to industry representatives, the action...
Texas Reports 3rd-Year Decline in Private Industry Injuries, Illnesses
Dec 29 2010 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) reports there were 213,507 total cases of nonfatal injuries and illnesses in Texas in 2009 that involved days away from work. Of those,...
2 Years After Ike Texas Coastal Residents Still Filing Claims
Dec 22 2010 // Windstorm claims from Hurricane Ike continue to be reported more than two years after the storm made landfall. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) continues to average receiving at least one new claim every...
Texas November Enforcements Result in Nearly $215K in Fines, Restitution
Dec 21 2010 // Enforcement actions taken by the Texas Department of Insurance that became final during November 2010 include 10 license revocations, and fines and restitution totaling $214,632. Copies of Insurance Commissioner Mike...
Lowder Joins Insurance Network of Texas
Dec 20 2010 // Chris Lowder has joined Giddings, Texas-based Insurance Network of Texas, as director of Marketing and Advertising. A sales and marketing executive with expertise in brand development, Lowder will be responsible for...
Fact or Fiction? Insurance Tidbits of Known and Little-Known Information
Dec 20 2010 // Have you ever wondered what big events helped shape regulation of the current U.S. insurance industry? Or if drivers of certain cars have more risk? What about the most attractive insurance job in the industry? These are...
Allstate Raises Homeowner Insurance Rates
Dec 16 2010 // Allstate Insurance has notified the Texas Department of Insurance that it will increase homeowner rates — some by almost 10 percent. About 450,000 homeowners covered by Allstate Texas Lloyds will see a rate increase...
Summary and Status of Gulf Oil Disaster Litigation
Dec 16 2010 // The U.S. Department of Justice has joined the hundreds of lawsuits that have been filed as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest in U.S. history. The following is a summary of the legal cases stemming from...
Texas Independent Agent Named Trusted Choice Hometown Hero
Dec 15 2010 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) has named Steve Barksdale, vice president at Bancorp South Insurance Services Inc., in Athens, Texas, as its newest Trusted Choice Hometown Hero. The Hometown Hero program...
Texas Work Comp Enforcements for November Include Fines Up to $60K
Dec 15 2010 // Final disciplinary actions taken by the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) for November 2010 include fines of up to $60,000. Final orders for November 2010: American Zurich...
ACE USA Appoints Mattheessen, Vest to Leadership Positions in Texas
Dec 14 2010 // ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group, has appointed Keith Mattheessen as senior vice president for ACE Risk Management’s (ARM) Houston region, and Laura Vest as senior vice president and...
Texas Unemployment Insurance Tax Rates to Rise for 2011
Dec 9 2010 // The standard minimum unemployment insurance (UI) tax rate paid by Texas employers in calendar year (CY) 2011 will be 0.78 percent, up from 0.72 percent in CY 2010, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) announced. The taxes...
Texas to Prohibit Discretionary Clauses in Policies Beginning Feb. 1
Dec 7 2010 // The Texas Commissioner of Insurance Mike Geeslin has adopted three rules proposed by the Office of Public Insurance Counsel that prohibit discretionary clauses in health, life and disability insurance policies, OPIC...
Texas High Court Reverses Denial of Work Comp for at Home Worker
Dec 7 2010 // An insurance company improperly denied workers’ compensation coverage for a woman injured while traveling in a company car from one workplace to another, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled. Liana Leordeanu, a...
Equity Risk Partners-Texas Adds Viracola to Managment Team
Dec 6 2010 // Dallas-based Equity Risk Partners-Texas (ERP-Texas) has appointed Michael T. Viracola as director of Business Development. ERP-Texas was recently established as a joint venture between insurance brokers Equity Risk...
Texas Supreme Court Declines to Review Workers’ Comp Stop-Loss Case
Dec 6 2010 // The Texas Supreme Court has put an end to a case involving the amount some hospitals marked up workers’ compensation-related bills under rules in effect until 2008, Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced. In June 2010,...
People
Dec 5 2010 // Frost Insurance in Austin, Texas promoted Sheri Smyth to vice president of personal lines. Smyth, a 23-year insurance industry veteran, manages the personal lines department’s growth and retention efforts, and...
It Figures
Dec 5 2010 // $30 Million A Harris County, Texas, jury rendered a $30 million verdict against the Houston-based owner of SunMart convenience stores for defrauding gasoline purchasers, according to the Texas Attorney General’s...
The Problem With Certificates
Dec 5 2010 // Certificates of insurance can create problems for insurance agents, especially in the areas of commercial property and the construction industry. The potential for disputes to arise is so great that the Texas Department of...
The Problem With Certificates
Dec 5 2010 // Certificates of insurance can create problems for insurance agents, especially in the areas of commercial property and the construction industry. The potential for disputes to arise is so great that the Texas Department of...
