Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Regulation Bill Passes in Last Hours of Session
Jun 9 2003 // In the waning hours of the 78th Legislature Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 14, the long-awaited insurance reform bill, giving additional power to the Insurance Commissioner to control residential and automobile...
FARMERS SETTLEMENT APPROVED:
Jun 9 2003 // State District Judge Scott Jenkins gave preliminary approval to the $117.5 million settlement between the State of Texas and Farmers Insurance. The record settlement is the result of action taken by the Texas Office of...
TEXAS MOLD CLAIMS HIT $4 BILLION:
Jun 9 2003 // Texas insurance companies paid out around $4 billion for mold claims in the past three years. According to the Insurance Council of Texas, an insurance trade association, mold claims have represented a larger monetary loss...
Burns & Wilcox Chairman Reflects on Decades of Business
Jun 9 2003 // Recently, Insurance Journal sat down with Alan Kaufman, chairman, president, and CEO of the H.W. Kaufman Financial Group and its subsidiary, Burns & Wilcox Ltd. As chairman, Kaufman has played an active role through a...
Political Efforts, Member Growth Mark Juneau’s Tenure as IIAT President
Jun 9 2003 // The strong likelihood of new tort reform legislation and the addition of 200 new member agencies are the biggest achievements of Andre Juneau’s one-year tenure, the outgoing president of the Independent Insurance...
Working with Blowouts, Knock-for-Knocks and Other Oil Patch Oddities
Jun 9 2003 // One of the big issues facing small- to mid-size oil and gas operators and contractors these days is the need to determine how much risk they are willing to carry themselves and how much they want to transfer to an insuring...
A New Day for Independet Agents
Jun 9 2003 // I put the low point of prospects for independent agency success somewhere in mid-1997. We were in the worst of the soft market. Its impact on agency finances was devastating. Insurance companies were experimenting...
Texas Construction Co. Owner Indicted for WC Fraud
Jun 6 2003 // Mary Lou Mott, owner of Zaval-Tex Construction Company, and her office manager, Louise Humberson, are facing felony charges following a Travis County (Texas) grand jury indictment. According to Texas Mutual Insurance...
Fitzhugh Back in Business
Jun 5 2003 // Champe Fitzhugh, Jr. announced he is back in business with Waco, Texas-based Fitzhugh Insurance and Bonds, after purchasing his non-compete agreement from the firm to which he sold Fitzhugh & Co. Insurance Agency in...
IIAT Praises Passage of Texas Reform Bill
Jun 4 2003 // According to the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, the June 1 passage of the state’s insurance reform bill is a victory for consumers, insurance companies and independent agents. Gov. Rick Perry, who declared...
Reform Legislation Approved by Texas Legislature
Jun 3 2003 // On the last day of the regular session, Texas lawmakers passed insurance reform legislation, but according to the National Association of Independent Insurers consumers and insurers alike will have to wait to see if the...
Heartland Unveils Homeowners Product for Texas, Nearby States
Jun 3 2003 // Heartland Marketing Group Inc., a provider of standard markets to independent agents, announced that a new Surplus Lines Homeowner Product will soon be available in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. Heartland...
Workers’ Comp Bills Sent to Texas Governor
Jun 2 2003 // The Alliance of American Insurers praised the passage of two bills in both houses the Texas Legislature that it believes will achieve meaningful reform of the troubled Texas workers’ compensation system. The bills...
NAII Urges Texas to Implement Reforms to Ensure Affordability, Competition
May 29 2003 // The Texas insurance market may continue to experience serious affordability and availability issues if lawmakers cannot find an answer to the state’s insurance crisis that encourages competition and more choices for...
Texas House Bans Credit Scoring in Regulation Bill
May 28 2003 // The Texas House of Representatives passed its version of Senate Bill 14, legislation that addresses regulation of residential property and commercial and personal automobile insurance. According to the Alliance of American...
Mold Claims Hit $4 Billion in Texas
May 27 2003 // Texas insurance companies have paid out just under $4 billion for mold claims in the past three years. According to the Insurance Council of Texas, an insurance trade association, mold claims have represented a larger...
Texas’ Farmers Settlement Gains Preliminary Approval
May 23 2003 // State District Judge Scott Jenkins in Austin gave a nod to the $117.5 million settlement between the state of Texas and Farmers Insurance Group. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the preliminary approval ends a...
Texas Senate Passes Tort Reform Bill
May 20 2003 // The Texas Senate announced it approved Senate Committee Substitute to House Bill (CSHB) 4, which is aimed at ending what some Senators call lawsuit abuse. Mount Pleasant Senator Bill Ratliff said the bill strikes a fair...
Court Finds So. Texas Well Service Guilty of Fraud
May 20 2003 // Travis County District Judge Brenda Kennedy recently found South Texas Well Service Inc., a Rockport-based company owned by Michael W. Harvey, guilty of insurance fraud. The company was ordered to pay $7,000 in restitution...
SAFECO Introduces New Motorcycle Product in Texas
May 19 2003 // Nuts & Bolts: Safeco announced a new motorcycle coverage designed to compete in a market that’s growing steadily at an estimated 10 percent a year. The company said the average motorcycle owner is 38 years old...
