Latest Texas Headlines

2,000 Texas Families Moving to FEMA Trailers

Oct 24 2008 // Texas state officials are working to locate housing for 400 Hurricane Ike victims living in a Red Cross shelter scheduled to close Oct. 26, according to a newspaper report. Meanwhile, 2,000 people, primarily in Galveston...

Texas Exec Named to The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers Board

Oct 23 2008 // Tom Hughston, executive vice president of North Texas-based Roach Howard Smith & Barton (RHSB), has been named to the board of directors of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, a trade association...

Texas Monitoring for Fairness in Treatment of Ike-Affected Policyholders

Oct 23 2008 // In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) reported it has received complaints from consumers indicating that through the words, tone, demeanor or actions of their insurance adjusters, they...

Spilman Named Governmental Affairs Manager for Texas Agents Group

Oct 22 2008 // With the 81st Texas Legislative Session just around the corner, the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) and its Trusted Choice agencies have appointed Annie Spilman as governmental affairs manager. Spilman will...

Meurer and Grimsley Join Texas Security General in San Antonio

Oct 22 2008 // San Antonio-based Texas Security General Insurance Agency Inc. announced the addition of Andy Meurer as senior broker and Debbie Grimsley as commercial underwriter in its Commercial Brokerage/Underwriting...

Hospital Group Earns First Texas Mutual Dividend

Oct 21 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced a $105,500 dividend to the Hospitals of Texas (HOTComp) workers’ compensation purchasing group. It is the group’s first dividend. The group dividend was based largely on...

Texas Supreme Court Revisits Workplace Injury Case

Oct 20 2008 // The Supreme Court of Texas recently held a rare rehearing of a unanimous decision listening to arguments about whether it erred last year in ruling that a contract employee who suffered on-the-job injuries couldn’t...

Annual Survey Lists Top 10 Ease of Doing Business P/C Insurers

Oct 20 2008 // West Bend Mutual Insurance Company of Wisconsin (No. 1), Central Mutual Insurance (No. 2), Safety Insurance (No. 3), Frankenmuth Insurance (No. 4), and Selective Insurance (No. 5) earned the top five spots when it comes to...

Business Moves

Oct 20 2008 // Wells Fargo, Wachovia Wells Fargo & Co. has won the bidding for Wachovia Corp., beating out Citicorp. Citicorp, while stepping aside, said it plans to pursue damages for interference with the deal it had worked out...

Wanted: Florida Agencies Focusing on Hispanic Market

Oct 20 2008 // Sunshine State High on List of States for Agency Acquisitions by Consolidators Behind Confie Seguros The movers behind the insurance agency consolidation firm Confie Seguros say they are well-positioned to meet their goal...

Hurricanes, Credit Crunch Hit Louisiana, Texas Agriculture

Oct 20 2008 // Like farmers and ranchers across the United States, agriculture producers in Texas and Louisiana have been impacted by rising fuel and fertilizer costs, and they fear the credit squeeze gripping the nation will make it...

TWIA Claims From Ike May be Less Than Expected

Oct 20 2008 // Two weeks after Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 13, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association — the state’s insurer of last resort for wind coverage along the coast — was fielding many thousands of...

Assessment of Ike’s Environmental Damage Begins

Oct 20 2008 // Hurricane Ike’s winds and massive waves destroyed oil platforms, tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines. The environmental damage is now becoming apparent: At least a half million gallons of crude oil spilled...

Texas Insured Driver Database in Effect Statewide

Oct 20 2008 // TexasSure, the vehicle insurance verification database designed to reduce the number of uninsured motorists in Texas, is now available to law enforcement statewide, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported. The...

Oct 20 2008 // Darleen Madden has been elected president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas (IIAD) for a term beginning Sept.1, 2008, through August 2009. Madden is co-owner of Glenn-Madden & Associates located in Dallas,...

Business Moves

Oct 20 2008 // AmWINS North Carolina-based wholesale insurance broker AmWINS Group Inc. has formed an energy practice within its brokerage division. Based in Houston, the energy practice is led by Pascal Ray and Maryanne Maniaci. Ray and...

New Markets

Oct 20 2008 // 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. Medi-Tourism Professional Liability Market...

Medical Professional Liability Insurer Drops Rates by 6.2% in Texas

Oct 17 2008 // Medical professional liability insurer Medical Protective announced a 6.2 percent average rate decrease for physicians in Texas, effective Jan. 1, 2009. The rate change represents the sixth rate reduction for the insurer...

Confie Seguros Acquires Alamo Auto Insurance Group

Oct 16 2008 // Confie Seguros, a provider of auto insurance with an emphasis on serving Hispanic consumers, has acquired auto insurance brokerage Alamo Auto Insurance. The acquisition of San Antonio-based Alamo expands Confie...

Texas Regulators: Ike Repairs on Coast Must Follow Building Code Rules

Oct 16 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) issued a reminder that homes along the Gulf Coast damaged by Hurricane Ike must be repaired in accordance with the Texas Windstorm Building Code (TWBC) if the homeowner plans to...