Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oklahoma Town Surveying Damage After Twisters Kill 8
Feb 12 2009 // Insurers such as Zurich and Farmers have announced they are sending catastrophe response teams to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, areas pummeled by severe weather earlier this week. Especially hard hit by a cluster of...
Texas Bill Would Double Fines for Driving With Handheld Devices
Feb 12 2009 // Texas State Rep. Vicki Truitt of Keller has filed HB 1158 which would double fines for drivers guilty of traffic violations while using handheld wireless devices, the Texas House of Representatives...
Western Insurance Agency Joins CAA
Feb 10 2009 // Austin, Texas-based Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA) announced it has welcomed Tom Boren Insurance Agency Inc., dba Western Insurance Agency of Copperas Cove, Texas, as its 38th member agency. Based in Copperas Cove,...
Texas House Bill Would Require Ignition Interlocks After All DWIs
Feb 10 2009 // Texas State Rep. Bill Callegari of Katy has filed a measure to require all convicted drunk drivers to install ignition interlock devices in their cars, including first offenders. If approved, House Bill 1110 by Callegari...
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Dallas-Based PartnerSource
Feb 9 2009 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired retail insurance broker and consultant PartnerSource Inc. in Dallas, Texas, Gallagher announced. Organized in 1994, PartnerSource specializes in the design, implementation and...
People
Feb 8 2009 // Linda Timmons has been promoted to director of communications for the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT). In this position, Timmons will manage the organization’s internal and external communications,...
Business Moves
Feb 8 2009 // Sun Belt, Higginbotham & Associates Sun Belt Insurance & Associates Inc., a Waco, Texas-based commercial and personal insurance and group benefits brokerage firm, and Ft. Worth, Texas-based Higginbotham &...
New Markets
Feb 8 2009 // The following markets were selected from the MyNewMarkets database of 25,000 coverages and programs. To find additional markets, or to submit markets, go to www.MyNewMarkets.com. High-Value Homeowners’...
Texas Court Says Spouse Can Pursue Workers’ Comp Bad Faith Claim
Feb 6 2009 // The spouse of a workers’ compensation claimant may continue her bad faith complaint against Zurich American Insurance company over the insurers’ refusal to pay compensation benefits, a district court in Travis...
North Texas Agencies, Powter and O’Neal, Join Forces
Feb 5 2009 // Powter Insurance, based in McKinney, Texas, announced it has acquired the O’Neal Insurance Agency of Burleson, Texas. O’Neal Insurance Agency owner Jerita O’Neal will join Powter, bringing many years of...
Farm Bureau County Mutual Insurance Company of Texas Downgraded
Feb 5 2009 // A.M. Best Co. announced it has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A- (Excellent) from A+ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a-” from “aa-” of Farm Bureau County Mutual...
Ike Vendors Still Waiting for Texas to Pay Hurricane Response Bills
Feb 5 2009 // The state of Texas has accrued $134 million in unpaid bills from emergency response to Hurricane Ike – and vendors want their money. Jack Colley, the state’s director of emergency management, told the state...
Texas Governor Calls for Reform of Texas Wind Pool Funding
Feb 4 2009 // Three of the five emergency items that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has outlined for the 2009 legislative session relate to hurricane recovery, including legislation to reform the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and...
Infinity’s South Texas Call Center Expands Spanish Service Capabilities
Feb 4 2009 // Infinity Insurance announced it has opened a new 325 seat call center in McAllen, Texas. The facility houses Claims and Customer Service representatives who are specially trained to handle calls from Infinity’s large...
Texas Announces December Insurance Industry Enforcement Actions
Feb 3 2009 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced enforcement actions taken by Commissioner Mike Geeslin that became final during December. The actions include five license revocations, three license denials and fines and...
Texas Lawmaker Proposes Tax Caps for Commercial Property
Feb 3 2009 // Texas State Representative Bill Callegari (Katy) has filed two measures to cap increases in property tax appraisals for commercial property. The bills, HB 979 and HJR 49, limit annual appraisal increases for commercial...
Appellate Court Overturns Nearly $3M Judgment Against Texas Mutual
Jan 30 2009 // An appellate court in Houston has reversed a nearly $3 million jury verdict against Texas Mutual Insurance Company in a dispute over cancellation of a workers’ compensation policy, the insurer announced. Former...
BancInsure Products Now Available to Bankers, Agents in Texas
Jan 30 2009 // Oklahoma-based BancInsure’s insurance and risk management products are now available to Texas bankers through their local independent insurance agents, the company announced. “As a former Texan I understand the...
Personal Data of About 500 Texas Workers Accidentally Posted Online
Jan 29 2009 // Personal information of about 500 current and former city workers in Beaumont, Texas, accidentally was posted online on Jan. 14. The data involves people who had filed workers’ compensation claims in the past five...
Insurance in Times of Financial Crisis
Jan 28 2009 // The current financial crisis affects almost every aspect of our business life. That includes insurance. Businesses need to be wise consumers and aware of the legal issues covered by their coverages. Let’s take a look...
