Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Lawmakers, Workers Criticize Court’s Liability Ruling
Dec 12 2007 // Four state lawmakers and the Texas AFL-CIO have asked the Texas Supreme Court to reverse its decision in a case they say incorrectly expands liability protections for employers under state workers’ compensation...
Texas Unemployment Insurance Rate Cut Should Save Employers $270M
Dec 10 2007 // A state agency said it cut the unemployment-insurance tax rate, which will save Texas employers $270 million next year. The rate cut was due to low recent jobless rates and the Legislature’s decision to eliminate a...
Has Tort Reform Worked Too Well in Texas?
Dec 7 2007 // The Texas Legislature enacted tort reform measures in 2003 that among other things placed a $250,000 cap on non-economic damage awards against individual health care practitioners, a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages...
Texas to Receive More than $50M for Improvement Projects
Dec 7 2007 // More than $50 million in federal public assistance (PA) funding has been set aside by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay for eligible projects in the state of Texas. More than 3,391 projects have declared...
Campbell Joins Maverick Surplus Lines as Marketing/Sales Director
Dec 6 2007 // Toni Campbell is the new Marketing and Sales director for Dallas-based Maverick Surplus Lines Inc., a specialist in wholesale nonsubscriber program business and services. Campbell will be responsible for appointing new...
Candy From Mexico Recalled; Texas Officials Say it Has too Much Lead
Dec 6 2007 // A syrup candy imported from Mexico is being voluntarily recalled after state health officials found excessive levels of lead, Texas officials said. San Antonio-based Villa-Mex Imports Inc. is asking customers to discard...
Former Texas Assistant AG to Fight Fraud in Private Law Firm
Dec 4 2007 // Patrick O’Connell, former chief of the Texas Attorney General’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Section, has joined Dallas-based Baron & Budd, P.C., as special counsel in the firm’s newly established Austin...
Texas Supreme Court Shakes up Outlook for Co-insurers at Odds
Dec 2 2007 // Overpaying insurer may not always have cause of action against underpaying company It is common for an insured to have two insurers cover the same risk. When the insured is sued regarding that risk, both insurers have a...
New Markets
Dec 2 2007 // 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. Solo/Small Firm Lawyers PL Nuts &...
Guaranty Fund System Continues to Deliver
Dec 2 2007 // Funds fulfill statutory promise to protect policyholders 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...
Victims of 2005 BP Texas Plant Blast Concerned About Plea Deal
Nov 30 2007 // A judge allowed victims of BP PLC’s deadly 2005 plant explosion to pursue complaints about a plea agreement resulting from a federal investigation of the accident. Attorneys for the victims have argued that a $50...
Thousands Eligible, not Enrolled, in Public Insurance for Kids
Nov 29 2007 // More than 850,000 of the 1.5 million Texas children who don’t have health insurance are eligible for but not enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program or Medicaid, a state official says. Health and...
Texans to Plug Into Wind Energy with Help from Allstate
Nov 28 2007 // Two thousand Texas homes are getting wired into the wind grid with a green donation from Allstate Insurance Company. The insurer announced it will provide enough clean, renewable, wind energy to power the equivalent of...
Texas Agent Sentenced for Perjury in Workers’ Comp Case
Nov 27 2007 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that an independent licensed insurance agent pled no contest to a charge of perjury in a workers’ compensation fraud-related case. A Travis County district court sentenced...
Texas October Enforcement Actions Total Nearly $650K
Nov 26 2007 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced enforcement actions taken by Commissioner Mike Geeslin that became final during October. The actions include a license revocation, a license denials and fines and restitution...
New Officers, Directors Elected at Texas Surplus Lines Assoc. Meeting
Nov 19 2007 // The Texas Surplus Lines Association Inc. elected new officers and directors at its 51st Annual Meeting held Nov. 12, 2007, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin: The new officers are: President Lana Parks, president of The...
It Figures
Nov 18 2007 // 2% Texas has used only 2 percent of more than $500 million in federal aid for homeowners and communities hit by Hurricane Rita more than two years ago, a state audit found. State Auditor John Keel found that more than...
People
Nov 18 2007 // Munich Reinsurance America Inc. announced that John P. Phelan will retire as planned on Dec. 31, 2007, after serving nearly six years as chairman and CEO. Anthony J. Kuczinski, who is president of Munich Re America’s...
New Players Enter the E&O Market … But Some Agents May Not See Rates Decline
Nov 18 2007 // Despite a rosier outlook in the agents’ errors and omissions (E&O) insurance market compared with years past, many insurance agents still faced rate increases in their E&O coverage in 2007 and anticipate...
Rate Increase OK’d for Texas Windstorm Insurance Association
Nov 16 2007 // Texas Windstorm Insurance Association policyholders’ rates will go up begining Feb. 1, 2008, as a result of rate increases approved by the Texas Department of Insurance yesterday. Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike...
