Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Higher Limits of Liability for 2020 Disapproved for Texas Windstorm Insurer
Nov 1 2019 // In mid-October, Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan denied a request by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) to raise its maximum liability limits for new and renewal policies with an effective date of...
U.S. Safety Board: No Alert System at Texas Petrochemical Facility Damaged by Fire
Nov 1 2019 // A company that owns a Houston-area petrochemical storage facility which burned for days in March didn’t have an alert system in place to warn of releases from its tanks, a federal agency investigating the blaze said...
Texas Warns of Insurance Deductibles Scam Following Dallas Storms
Oct 30 2019 // Texans with property in locations that were hit by the severe weather that swept through Dallas and North Texas on Sunday, Oct. 20 are now targets of a scam involving insurance deductibles, insurance regulators say. The...
Womack Named Vice Chair, Morrison Secretary-Treasurer at Texas Windstorm Insurer
Oct 30 2019 // The board of directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) have elected two individuals to fill the recently vacated executive positions of vice chair and secretary-treasurer. TWIA public representative...
Texas Oilfield Worker Killed by Poisonous Gas; Wife Dies Checking on Him
Oct 30 2019 // A 44-year-old Texas oil company worker died after being overcome by poisonous gas at a pump house, and his 37-year-old wife also was killed by the fumes when she went to check on him. The Ector County Sheriff’s...
Insurer Group: Dallas Tornado Outbreak Costliest in Texas History
Oct 25 2019 // The nine tornadoes that hit the Dallas, Texas-area over the weekend have caused an estimated $2 billion in damage, an insurer trade group says, making it the costliest tornado loss in Texas history. The Insurance Council...
Meyer Named Interim Executive Director at Texas Surplus Lines Stamping Office
Oct 24 2019 // Don Meyer has been appointed interim executive director at the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX). The appointment, approved by the SLTX board of directors, was effective Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. Meyer has more...
9 Tornadoes Confirmed in North Texas Outbreak; Insured Losses Pegged at $2B
Oct 24 2019 // The National Weather Service says nine tornadoes struck the Dallas area during Sunday’s stretch of severe storms in Texas. Forecasters confirmed the twisters Tuesday after surveying damage throughout North Texas. The...
Texas Man Convicted of $1.7M Arson, Insurance Fraud Scheme
Oct 23 2019 // A southeast Texas man has been found guilty charges related to an arson and insurance fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported. According to U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown, a...
Texas Dentist Office Settles Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Case for $20K
Oct 23 2019 // Federal employment officials say the Texas-based dental business will pay $20,000 and provide other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s...
Texas Voters to Decide on Proposition to Create Fund for Flood Prevention, Recovery
Oct 23 2019 // State lawmakers want to create a dedicated $800 million fund for flood prevention and recovery that would be safe from future legislative budget fights. They’re asking Texas voters to weigh in via a constitutional...
Flatt Joins Higginbotham as EVP; Will Open Midland Office
Oct 22 2019 // Tim Flatt has joined Fort Worth, Texas-based independent insurance broker, Higginbotham, as an employee benefits executive vice president. Flatt will open Higginbotham’s first Midland office, bringing the...
3 Twisters Confirmed in North Texas; Governor Issues Disaster Declaration
Oct 21 2019 // The National Weather Service has confirmed that three tornadoes ripped through North Texas on Sunday night, two in Dallas County and one in Van Zandt County, arising out of a storm system that caused widespread damage...
Texas Firms Say Too Many Low-Skill Workers Are Failing Drug Tests
Oct 21 2019 // Employers in Texas say too many low-skill workers are failing to pass drug tests needed to get hired. Forty-eight percent of Texas firms who had difficulty finding low-skill workers cited their inability to pass a drug...
IBHS Survey Highlights Building Code Gaps in Texas Coastal Counties
Oct 21 2019 // A detailed review of coastal Texas building codes revealed gaps that could leave homeowners at risk if mitigation efforts are not sought as nearly one-third of Texans live in the coastal counties. The Insurance Institute...
Texas Surplus Lines Premium Up Again
Oct 21 2019 // Texas surplus lines premium reported through the first three quarters of 2019 reached $5.35 billion, a 16.15% increase over the same period in 2018, according to the Surplus Line Stamping Office of Texas...
People & Places
Oct 21 2019 // National Reid French has stepped down as CEO of the insurance agency technology firm Applied Systems, and Cloud Technology Executive Taylor Rhodes has joined Applied as the new CEO. French, who served as CEO for eight...
Officials: Nearly Half of all Texas Traffic Deaths Occur in Energy-Producing Areas
Oct 18 2019 // Texas continues to lead the nation in oil and gas production, creating jobs and prosperity statewide, but communities in the state’s main energy production areas have also seen a rise in deaths on the road accounting...
Feds Say Retailer Broke Law by Selling Rifle Used in Texas Church Attack
Oct 18 2019 // Federal prosecutors say a sporting goods retailer violated the law by selling an AR-15-style rifle and large capacity magazine to a man who used them to kill more than two dozen worshippers at a Texas church. The...
Texas Insurance Department Issues Warning About Imelda-Soaked Vehicles
Oct 17 2019 // The Texas Department of Insurance has issued a warning to consumers to be on the lookout for flood-damaged vehicles hitting the resale market, one month after Tropical Storm Imelda drenched Southeast Texas with historic...
