Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tornado-Bearing Storms Spread Damage Across Parts of Arkansas, Texas
Mar 23 2020 // Severe storms, including at least one possible tornado, struck parts of Arkansas on the evening of March 19, damaging homes and causing widespread damage to trees and power lines. Additionally, the National Weather Service...
My New Markets
Mar 23 2020 // Earthquake / DIC Market Detail: Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers LLC (www.wssib.com) has 11 carriers offering: DIC, earthquake, flood, EQSL, replacement cost, competitive deductibles, full limits or loss limits,...
People & Places
Mar 23 2020 // National EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property and casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, has expanded its insurance offering in the farm and ranch insurance market with a new...
Texas Court Orders Auto Insurer Windhaven National into Liquidation
Mar 23 2020 // Private passenger auto insurer Windhaven National Insurance Co. (WNIC), a Texas-domiciled subsidiary of Florida-based Windhaven Insurance, has been ordered into liquidation at the request of the Texas Department of...
Safeco Acquiring Republic’s Personal Lines Business in 6 States
Mar 23 2020 // AmTrust Financial Services said it will transfer to Liberty Mutual’s Safeco Insurance unit the renewal rights for the personal lines business in six states of Dallas-based Republic Group, an AmTrust company. The deal...
Texas OKs Rate Changes for Texas FAIR Plan
Mar 20 2020 // The Texas Department of Insurance has approved various rate changes for the Texas Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan Association (FAIR Plan). On Dec. 20, 2019, the FAIR Plan filed residential property insurance...
Unconfirmed Tornado in North Texas Damages Roofs, Outbuildings
Mar 20 2020 // At least one unconfirmed tornado tore through part of rural North Texas on Wednesday night, damaging numerous roofs and outbuildings, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Storm spotters reported...
Texas Stamping Office Still Processing Policies, Fees Amid Pandemic Precautions
Mar 19 2020 // Its employees are now working remotely but the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) reports that all duties and responsibilities, including policy processing and fee collections, continue to be met. SLTX said it...
EG Insurance Takes Over Policies of Defunct Windhaven MGA The Hearth
Mar 19 2020 // A new managing general agent has taken over the policies of Windhaven Insurance Company subsidiary The Hearth Group and will begin writing new business in Florida and Texas in the near future. EG Insurance Agency, based in...
Some Telemedicine Regulations Waived in Texas in Effort to Expand Access
Mar 18 2020 // The Texas Department of Insurance has issued an emergency rule aimed at helping doctors across the state to continue treating patients during the crisis created by COVID-19, the disease stemming from the new...
Texas Insurance Department: New Building Codes to Strengthen Coastal Properties
Mar 13 2020 // Texas insurance regulators have adopted stronger building codes for homes and buildings in counties along Gulf Coast. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) said the new construction standards apply any new building or...
Return-to-Work Rates on the Rise in Texas Workers’ Comp System: Report
Mar 12 2020 // The return-to-work (RTW) rate for employees in the Texas workers’ compensation system who received temporary income benefits (TIBs) for their injuries increased by 5% over the decade from 2007 to 2017. That’s...
Auto Insurer Windhaven National Ordered Into Liquidation by Texas Court
Mar 9 2020 // Texas-based private passenger auto insurer Windhaven National Insurance Co. (WNIC), a subsidiary of Windhaven Insurance, has been ordered into liquidation at the request of the Texas Department of Insurance, which was...
Texas Insurance Regulators: BCBSTX to Pay Restitution, $10M Fine for Claims, Marketing Errors
Mar 9 2020 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) has agreed to repay consumers after a departmental review found delays in handling out-of-network emergency claims and incorrect...
4 State Senators Named to Funding Oversight Board of Texas Windstorm Insurer
Mar 9 2020 // Texas state Sen. Kelly Hancock (Richland Hills), Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (McAllen), Charles Schwertner (Georgetown) and Larry Taylor, (Friendswood) have been appointed to the Windstorm Insurance Legislative...
Surplus Lines Late Filing Report for 2019 to Be Generated on March 19
Mar 9 2020 // The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) said its late filing report, which lists all Texas surplus lines policies that were not timely filed in 2019, will be generated on March 19, 2020. Policies are considered...
Windhaven Insurance Ceasing Operations; Texas Placing Windhaven National into Receivership
Mar 9 2020 // Auto and home insurer Windhaven Insurance has alerted its agents and employees that it is winding down the insurance operations of its entities, including Windhaven National Insurance Co., ClutchAnalytics and The Hearth...
TWIA Sets Funding for Catastrophe Year 2020 at $2.4B
Mar 9 2020 // The wind and hail insurance carrier of last resort for counties along the Texas coast has determined that its 1-in-100 probable maximum loss (1:100 PML) for the 2020 catastrophe year is $4.2 billion. At a quarterly meeting...
SXSW Said Not to Be Insured for Cancellation of 2020 Event
Mar 8 2020 // SXSW, the 10-day technology, film and music festival that has taken place in Austin every March since 1987, will not be held this year after Mayor Steve Adler declared a local disaster in response to the spread in Texas of...
Austin’s SXSW Cancelled Due to Texas Coronavirus Cases
Mar 6 2020 // Austin Mayor Steve Adler declared a local disaster on March 5 that effectively cancels this year’s South by Southwest festival. The 10-day event was scheduled to begin March 13 and expects hundreds of thousands of...
