Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Jury Orders Wells Fargo to Pay $102.8 Million in USAA Mobile Deposit Patent Case
Jan 13 2020 // Wells Fargo & Co. was told to pay $102.8 million after a federal jury in Texas said in infringed United Services Automobile Association’s patents for a mobile deposit system. It’s the second trial Wells...
More Injuries Among Retail Workers in Texas Compared to Other Industries
Jan 13 2020 // The Texas Department of Insurance reported that according to federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data there are more workers in shopping malls and retail outlets that get sick and injured than in any other private...
SLTX: Texas E&S Premium Up 14.3% in 2019
Jan 9 2020 // The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) reports that excess and surplus lines premium (E&S) in Texas reached $6.95 billion in 2019, a 14.36% increase over 2018’s premium total of $6.08 billion. The past...
New Policy Contracts Now in Effect at Texas Windstorm Insurer
Jan 8 2020 // Texas’ insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the coast says new terms and conditions for policies with an effective date on or after January 1, 2020, are now in place. The updated coverages, terms, and...
Texas Governor Warns of 10K per Minute Attempted Cyber Attacks from Iran
Jan 8 2020 // Gov. Greg Abbott is warning Texans to be “particularly vigilant” regarding potential cyber terrorism from Iran, suggesting that heightened tensions with the country have caused an increase in attempted attacks...
SLTX’s Mitchell Joins IIAT as Director
Jan 8 2020 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) has hired Tara Mitchell as a director. Mitchell will lead IIAT’s technology initiatives to innovate and streamline business practices and bring greater value to IIAT...
Lawyers Try Unusual Legal Path to Advance Sex Abuse Claims Against Boy Scouts
Jan 8 2020 // A team of lawyers filed a lawsuit this week in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking to establish the nation’s capital as a venue for men across the U.S. to sue the Boy Scouts of America for allegedly failing to...
Texas’ System for Mediation, Arbitration of Medical Billing Disputes Now Available
Jan 6 2020 // The Texas Department of Insurance says its Independent Dispute Resolution portal for medical billing disputes went live on January 1. Employees and authorized representatives for health care providers and health plans can...
Texas Workers’ Comp Division Releases Health Care Provider Oversight Results for 2019
Jan 3 2020 // In late December, the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) released the 2019 Health Care Provider Performance Based Oversight (PBO) assessment. For 2019, health care providers were...
Number of Retail Worker Injuries in Texas Higher Than Those in Other Industries
Jan 3 2020 // The Texas Department of Insurance reported that federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows there are more workers in shopping malls and retail outlets that get sick and injured than in any other private industry...
America Is Still Waiting for Trump’s ‘Much Better’ Replacement for Obamacare
Jan 3 2020 // As a candidate for the White House, Donald Trump repeatedly promised that he would “immediately” replace President Barack Obama’s health care law with a plan of his own that would provide “insurance...
Refusing to Dismiss Lawsuit, Texas Judge Orders Alex Jones to Pay $100K in Sandy Hook Case
Jan 2 2020 // A Texas judge ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in legal fees and refused to dismiss a lawsuit that targets the Infowars host for using his show to promote falsehoods that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 South Central Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // It almost seemed like there was a major fire or explosion per month at one petrochemical facility or another in the South Central region last year. That’s not really the case, but there were a number of high-profile...
Operational Changes Coming for 2020 for Texas Windstorm Insurance Association
Dec 31 2019 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has posted on its website a summary of operational and policy changes that go into effect in 2020 as a result of new laws passed in 2019 by the state’s Legislature. Following...
Texas Surplus Lines Association Warns of Fake Email
Dec 31 2019 // The Texas Surplus Lines Association is warning its members of a fake email that has been sent out under the name of TSLA President Jennifer Mier. TSLA is urging members not to respond to the email. In an emailed message,...
Texas Insurance Regulators: New Year’s Day Is No. 1 Holiday for Vehicle Thefts
Dec 30 2019 // The Texas Department of Insurance is urging vehicle owners to lock their car doors and turn on alarms while they ring in the new year in order to prevent auto thefts. TDI said in a media release that a report issued in...
Texas’ New Surprise Medical Bill Law Goes into Effect on Jan. 1
Dec 27 2019 // Some Texans will have new consumer protections against surprise medical bills when a new law becomes effective on Jan. 1, the Texas Department of Insurance reported. Patients get surprise medical bills when they get care...
Texas House Committee Hearing on Windstorm Insurance Legislation Set for Jan. 15
Dec 27 2019 // The insurance committee in the Texas House of Representatives will hold a hearing on Jan. 15 to consider the state of rulemaking and other governmental actions with regard to legislation passed in 2019 affecting...
United Airlines Settles Sexual Harassment Suit Filed in Texas for $321K
Dec 23 2019 // United Airlines Inc., a Chicago-headquartered international airline operating in over 300 airports across five continents, has agreed to pay $321,000, plus attorney’s fees, to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed...
Convicted of Workers’ Comp Fraud, Houston Medical Facility Must Repay $30K
Dec 23 2019 // A Houston medical facility was ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to workers’ compensation fraud in a Travis County District Court. The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of...
