Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Bill Aims to Reverse State High Court Ruling in Work Comp Case
Apr 17 2009 // Texas lawmakers, unhappy with a recent state Supreme Court decision in a high profile workers’ compensation case, have passed out of committee a measure its sponsors say will overturn the Court’s ruling in...
Texas AG Shuts Down Trio Targeting Hurricane Victims
Apr 16 2009 // Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has charged three men with operating an unlawful construction scheme that targeted Hurricane Ike victims. The AG’s lawsuit charges Benton R. Barber with operating several...
Key & Piskuran Insurance Becomes a Higginbotham Company
Apr 15 2009 // Key & Piskuran Insurance Agency LLC, a commercial property/casualty insurance broker in Arlington, Texas, has joined forces with Higginbotham & Associates, a Fort Worth-based insurance and financial services...
Governor Requests Emergency Declaration for 199 Texas Counties
Apr 14 2009 // Texas Governor Rick Perry has requested FEMA to issue an emergency declaration for 199 Texas counties based on the threat of wildfires. Perry also has authorized additional state resources to combat the ongoing wildfires...
Wildfires Burn Tens of Thousands of Acres Across Texas
Apr 10 2009 // Smoke from wildfires burning across North and West Texas is blowing into Austin and other locations in the center of the state, and Dallas-area residents are under an air-quality warning as a result of the fires. The Texas...
Texas Senate Dems Block Insurance Department Sunset Legislation
Apr 10 2009 // Democrats in the Texas Senate have moved to block key insurance legislation as they push for more consumer protections and lower homeowner rates. Using filibuster rules, Democrats refused to allow debate on a measure...
Much Anticipated Windstorm Insurance Debate Begins in Texas
Apr 9 2009 // Texas legislators finally have jumped into debate over how to improve the troubled windstorm insurance system that serves as a last resort for hurricane protection along much of the Gulf Coast. The House Insurance...
Texas-based Gibraltar Group Joins Sitkins International
Apr 9 2009 // The Gibraltar Group, a full-service insurance and risk management firm headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, announced that the company has been selected to become a part of Sitkins International, an organization whose...
Wright Appointed President, CEO of Texas Mutual Insurance Company
Apr 7 2009 // Ron Wright, chief operating officer of Texas Mutual Insurance Company since 1997, will become president and CEO of the company effective Sept. 1, 2009, Texas Mutual announced. Wright will succeed Russell R. Oliver, who...
Texas High Court Reaffirms Controversial Entergy Workplace Ruling
Apr 6 2009 // After agreeing to a rare rehearing, the Texas Supreme Court on April 3 upheld its decision that – despite what some lawmakers say – a “premises owner” cannot be sued by injured employees of a...
Texas Wildfire Destroys Homes; Firefighters Hurt by Smoke Inhalation
Apr 6 2009 // The Texas Forest Services says 24 firefighters have been treated for smoke inhalation from fighting Texas wildflires, near the Panhandle town of Wheeler, where four homes have been lost and an estimated 20 homes damaged in...
It Figures
Apr 6 2009 // 165 The estimated incurred loss ratio for insurers in Texas in 2008 is a record high of 127; the combined loss and expense ratio is 165. Texas Department of Insurance “Texas Homeowners Insurance Loss Data...
People
Apr 6 2009 // Higginbotham & Associates, an independent insurance brokerage firm based in Ft. Worth, Texas, added employee benefits brokers John Collins, Dana Jones and Rob Marsh to its managing director team for 2009, in...
2008 Costly for Insurance Industry in Texas
Apr 6 2009 // The Texas insurance industry lost nearly $1.4 billion in 2008. According to figures released by the Texas Department of Insurance, for every dollar the state’s insurance industry took in it paid out $1.65. “It...
Declarations
Apr 6 2009 // Frankly Mad “It’s very, very disappointing. I’ve just pretty much run out of patience.” —Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland. Holland said she is “grossly disappointed and frankly...
Business Moves
Apr 6 2009 // Gillis, Ellis & Baker Independent insurance agency Gillis, Ellis & Baker Inc. (GEB), headquartered in New Orleans, opened a new office in Houston under the name of Gillis, Ellis & Baker of Texas...
Liaisons Highlight Consumer Insurance Concerns
Apr 6 2009 // Consumer Advocates Focus on How Insurers Treat Insureds in Difficult Economic, Credit Climate Insurance agents, brokers and regulators should be aware that when it comes to insurance, consumers are concerned with such...
Texas Senate Approves Anti-DWI Bills
Mar 31 2009 // The Texas Senate has approved two measures aimed at reducing drunk-driving fatalities in Texas. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Texas was second only to California in 2007 in...
Central Texas Hail Storm Racks up $160M in Losses
Mar 30 2009 // Many Central Texans are still cleaning up from a large hail storm on last week that knocked out windows, smashed roofs and dented thousands of automobiles causing an estimated $160 million in insured losses. The storm...
Louisiana Crash Survivor Sues Helicopter Maker
Mar 30 2009 // The lone survivor of a helicopter crash that killed eight people in Louisiana in January is suing the aircraft’s manufacturer and two other companies. The federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Steven Yelton, of...
