Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Resigning
Jun 4 2008 // Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Albert Betts will resign his post effective Aug. 31, 2008, the insurance department announced. Betts was appointed as the first...
4 Texas Agencies Picked for Big ‘I’ Best Practices Study Group
Jun 3 2008 // Austin, Texas-based Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA) announced four of its member agencies, Bigham-Kliewer-Chapman-Watts, Bryan Insurance, Pierson & Fendley and Weatherby-Eisenrich, were selected to participated...
Coastal Growth from Texas to N.C. Lends Urgency to Hurricane Forecasts
Jun 2 2008 // The rapid pace of development along hurricane-prone coasts is adding a new level of urgency for forecasters to more accurately pinpoint potential storm impact zones, the director of the National Hurricane Center...
Here We Go Again
Jun 2 2008 // The odd-numbered year scenario could come as close to predicting hurricanes as hurricane forecasting experts have recently. Gulf Coast residents: It’s time to cross your fingers, pull out the old rabbit’s foot,...
People
Jun 2 2008 // Specialty Insurance Managers Inc. CEO Frank R. Berry and President Diana G. Berry are retiring. The Austin, Texas-based managing general agency chose to perpetuate by passing the leadership of the firm to Mike Berry,...
Credit Woes May Cause Turbulence in Catastrophe Markets
Jun 2 2008 // Florida, Louisiana and Texas may be most at risk The credit crunch in the U.S. financial markets that boiled over due to the subprime mortgage meltdown may affect the ability of insurers and reinsurers that cover coastal...
$50M in Insured Losses Expected From May Storm in Austin
Jun 2 2008 // Earlier North Texas storms rack up more than $200 million in damages Trees downed in May 14 storm damaged this house in central Austin. Back-to-back storm systems that surprised Central Texas overnight May 14-15 with...
Dispute Between State Farm and Texas Goes On
Jun 2 2008 // State Farm Insurance does not have to refund consumers some $650 million in alleged overcharges while its dispute with Texas regulators over homeowner rates is reviewed. A state appeals court ruled the insurer was denied...
Texas Review Board Says Insurance Department Works Well but Offers Changes
Jun 2 2008 // Department could do a better job regulating property/casualty rates Texas Sunset Advisory Commission staff in a report released in May 2008 said the Texas Department of Insurance functions well but that the state’s...
Appeals Court Overturns $7.75 Million Vioxx Verdict
Jun 2 2008 // An appeals court in Texas overturned a $7.75 million verdict against Merck & Co involving its withdrawn pain drug Vioxx, May 14, ruling that evidence presented at trial failed to prove the medicine caused the heart...
New Markets
Jun 2 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. Energy Risks Market Detail: MarketScout has...
Texas Approves 10 Companies to Self-Insure for Workers’ Comp
May 30 2008 // Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Albert Betts approved 10 companies, employing approximately 31,400 employees in Texas, to self-insure for workers’ compensation claims for a one-year period under the Texas...
Universal Underwriters to Refund $2.4M to Texas Policyholders
May 29 2008 // Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott reached a settlement with an automobile credit insurance company that unlawfully withheld insurance premiums from than 12,000 Texans who paid off their vehicle loans early. The Office of...
Merck Reports Texas Court Reverses Vioxx Injury Decision
May 29 2008 // Merck & Co said Thursday that a Texas appeals court reversed a decision against the company in the first trial involving alleged injuries caused by its withdrawn Vioxx painkiller. The appeals court found Vioxx did not...
For Emergency Planners, Hurricane Forecasts Have Limited Value
May 29 2008 // Each April, weather wizard William Gray emerges from his burrow deep in the Rocky Mountains to offer his forecast for the six-month hurricane season that starts June 1. And the news media are there, breathlessly awaiting...
Texas Mutual Approves $150 Million Dividend Plan
May 29 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company’s board of directors approved the company’s plan to distribute approximately $150 million in policyholder dividends. Dividends reward safety-conscious employers who have favorable...
Hurricane Season Begins June 1; Will Odds be in Texas’ Favor?
May 28 2008 // With hurricane season beginning June 1, Texans may be able to hold on to the hope that the odds are stacked for them. If historical experience for the past two decades holds true, Texas won’t see a hurricane hit its...
Kimball Elected President of Central Texas Chapter of CPCU
May 28 2008 // The Central Texas Chapter of the CPCU Society (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters) has elected officers for 2008-2009. Newly elected chapter officers are: President Kim Kimball, Underwriting Support Services...
Swingle Says He’s Benefited From Service to Texas Agents’ Group
May 28 2008 // For outgoing Independent Insurance Agents of Texas President Frank Swingle, serving on the board of the agents’ organization for the past six years has “been tremendously fun and beneficial.” And he plans...
Rate Dispute Between State Farm and Texas Regulators Continues
May 27 2008 // State Farm Insurance does not have to refund consumers some $650 million in alleged overcharges while its dispute with Texas regulators over homeowner rates is reviewed. A state appeals court has ruled the insurer was...
