Latest Texas Headlines

All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.

ISO: Insurers to Pay $6.5 Billion in 2007 Catastrophe Claims

Jan 14 2008 // U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay homeowners and businesses $6.5 billion for 2007 property losses from 23 catastrophes — the eighth lowest cost in a decade and the seventh lowest frequency for the same...

Fatality Leads to Safety Violation Penalties for Texas-based Company

Jan 14 2008 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed $118,350 in penalties against Round Rock, Texas-based TECO-Westinghouse Motor Co. for the alleged failure to protect...

People

Jan 13 2008 // Dallas-based regional insurer, The Republic Group, appointed Jim Drawert to the new position of vice president – Industry Relations. Additionally, Cathy Link has joined Republic as chief underwriting officer. Drawert...

Travelers Settles With States Over brokers’ Contingent Commissions

Jan 13 2008 // The Travelers Cos. Inc. will pay $6 million to settle investigations in nine states and the District of Columbia over how it paid brokers. The St. Paul-based company said it had reached agreements with attorneys general in...

Texas Establishes Performance Incentives for Workers’ Comp Carriers, Providers

Jan 13 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation now has in place a rule establishing incentives for performance-based oversight for workers’ comp carriers and health care providers. The...

Texas Coast and Rio Grande Valley Still ‘Judicial Hellholes,’ Group Says

Jan 13 2008 // The Texas Gulf Coast and the Rio Grande Valley areas retained their reputation as “Judicial Hellholes” in 2007, according to a tort reform advocacy group that ranks jurisdictions it believes consistently hand...

New Markets

Jan 13 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. Small Residential General Contractors Nuts...

Zero Consumer Complaints From Hurricane Humberto Claims

Jan 13 2008 // No consumer complaints have been received by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) in response to the insurance industry’s handling of the estimated 5,000 auto, homeowner and commercial claims that resulted from...

Judge Sanctions Texas Mutual, Company Will Appeal Decision

Jan 11 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company says it respectfully but strongly disagrees with the sanctions against it ordered by Dallas Judge Martin Hoffman on Jan. 9, 2008, in the case of Texas Mutual v. Juan Narvaez. The company says...

Texas AG: Health Services Provider Exposed Customers to ID Theft

Jan 11 2008 // Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed court documents alleging Select Physical Therapy Texas Limited Partnership and its parent company, Select Medical Corporation, for systematically exposing their customers to...

Texas Medical and Hospital Fee Guideline Rules Updated

Jan 11 2008 // Texas Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Albert Betts signed rules to update a medical fee guideline for health care providers, to establish a hospital outpatient fee guideline and to update a hospital inpatient...

Texas Workshop to Focus on Safety in Construction, Transportation

Jan 10 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) will hold a regional workplace safety workshop in Corpus Christi to address safety concerns in the construction and transportation...

First Cancer Lawsuit Related to Texas Railroad Tie Plant Begins

Jan 10 2008 // Owners of a Texas plant that makes railroad ties were grossly negligent in failing to provide safety equipment for workers handling toxic chemicals, a pollution prevention expert testified in the first of a flurry of...

Environmental Groups sue Shell for Excess Pollution at Texas Refinery

Jan 9 2008 // Environmental groups have sued Shell Oil Co. and several of its affiliates, claiming the oil giant has for years released pollutants from its suburban Houston refinery that are well above state and federal limits. In their...

13 Companies Approved to Self-Insure for Workers’ Comp in Texas

Jan 9 2008 // Thirteen companies with approximately 183,200 employees in Texas were approved to self-insure for workers’ compensation claims for a one-year period under the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), Division of...

Texas Recieved No Complaints from 2007 Hurricane Claims

Jan 8 2008 // No complaints have been received by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) on how the insurance industry handled any of the estimated 5,000 auto, homeowner and commercial claims that resulted from Hurricane Humberto, the...

Texas Mutual Fraud Investigators Earn ACFE Certification

Jan 8 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported it recovered more than $1 million in workers’ compensation fraud last year. The company also announced that Texas Mutual investigators Victoria Quintana and William Muhr earned...

Texas Performance-Based Oversight Incentive Rule Established

Jan 8 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation reported that Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Albert Betts signed a rule establishing incentives for performance-based oversight for...

I.I.I.’s Hartwig Slated to Wrap Up Texas Agency Management Seminar

Jan 7 2008 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas’ 45th Annual Joe Vincent Management Seminar, to be held in Austin Jan. 27 – 29, will feature a motivational presentation by an Olympic speedskater and a rapid-fire wrap...

Guaranty Fund System Continues to Deliver

Jan 4 2008 // At the heart of every property and casualty insurance contract lies a promise to soften the blow of misfortune. But what happens when an insurance company becomes financially troubled, fails and is no longer able to uphold...