Latest Texas Headlines

All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Polak Named Texas Windstorm Insurance Association General Manager

Mar 6 2012 // John PolakJohn Polak has been named general manager of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). Since April 2011, Polak served as interim general manager for the association. Polak has more than 39 years of...

2011 an Exceptional Year for Tornadoes

Mar 5 2012 // While 2011 marked the fourth deadliest year on record for tornadoes in the United States, Texas was spared tornado-related fatalities and recorded fewer-than-average number of such storms.Not so in Alabama, which led all...

Texas Company Develops Up-to-Date Property Data for Insurers

Mar 5 2012 // In many ways, insurance is a battle for information. From marketing to underwriting to claims, the ability to know as much as possible about a potential insured, especially for property risks, is vital.With that in mind,...

U.S. Should Expect Another Above-Normal Tornado Season

Mar 5 2012 // The U.S. should expect an active severe weather season with above-normal tornadoes in 2012. That’s after a near-record number of tornadoes in 2011, according to forecasters at AccuWeather.com in State College,...

Value of Texas ‘Loser Pays’ Statute Questioned

Mar 5 2012 // A law in Texas that assigns court costs to “losers” in cases deemed to be “frivolous” is not all that effective, says one Austin-based attorney.Joanna Salinas, partner and manager of the...

People

Mar 5 2012 // W. Martin Yung has been selected chief executive officer for JDW Insurance, headquartered in El Paso, Texas.Yung is a shareholder and a member of the board of directors. He has served as president of the firm since...

Texas Regulators Looking at Ways to Restructure TWIA

Mar 5 2012 // Texas insurance regulators are seeking a consultant to explore ways to restructure the insurer of last resort for properties along the Texas coast.Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman says she believes TWIA’s...

Business Moves

Mar 5 2012 // Town & Country, Whittington InsuranceHouston-based Town & Country Insurance Agency Inc., a subsidiary of Encore Bancshares Inc. and an affiliate of Encore Bank N.A., has completed its acquisition of Whittington...

Dallas Doctor, 6 Others Arrested in $375M Health Care Fraud Scheme

Mar 1 2012 // A physician and the office manager of his medical practice, along with five owners of home health agencies, were arrested today on charges related to their alleged participation in a nearly $375 million health care fraud...

Crime Prevention Campaign Joins Forces With Another Texas Town

Feb 29 2012 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) has joined with the Grand Prairie Police Department in a crime prevention campaign aimed at preventing auto thefts and auto burglaries. The program involves the funding and distribution...

Hackings, Emails Shine Rare Light on Texas-Based Intelligence Firm

Feb 29 2012 // Austin, Texas-based private intelligence analysis firm Strategic Forecasting Inc (Stratfor) was paid by Coca-Cola to gauge the threat of Olympic protesters, provided Dow Chemical information on environmental activists, and...

Western Security Surplus’ Stevens Helps Launch Berry Family 5K

Feb 24 2012 // On July 3, 2011, while returning to their home in Houston, Texas, from an annual family road trip to Colorado, the Berry family found themselves victims of a tragic, fatal car accident.The Berry family’s minivan,...

Texas Regulators Looking at Ways to Restructure Windstorm Pool

Feb 23 2012 // Texas insurance regulators are seeking a consultant to explore options for restructuring the insurer of last resort for properties along the Texas coast.The Texas Department of Insurance has issued a request for proposal...

2011 an Exceptional Year for Tornadoes

Feb 23 2012 // While 2011 marked the fourth deadliest year on record for tornadoes in the United States, Texas was spared tornado-related fatalities and recorded fewer-than-average number of such storms.Not so Alabama, which led all...

Yung Named CEO at El Paso, Texas-Based JDW Insurance

Feb 23 2012 // W. Martin Yung has been selected chief executive officer for JDW Insurance, headquartered in El Paso, Texas. Yung is a shareholder and a member of the board of directors. He has served as president of the firm since...

Texas 2011 Legislative Update

Feb 21 2012 // Ambulance-chasing attorneys, frivolous lawsuit filings and contractual indemnification clauses were all subjects addressed by the Texas 2011 legislative session.Joanna Salinas, partner and manager of the Austin-based law...

U.S. Should Expect Another Above-Normal Tornado Season in 2012

Feb 21 2012 // The U.S. should expect an active severe weather season with above-normal tornadoes in 2012.That’s after a near-record number of tornadoes in 2011, according to forecasters at AccuWeather.com in State College, Penn....

South Central Business Moves

Feb 20 2012 // TDECU Insurance Agency LLC has acquired two independent insurance agencies: Assurance Insurance Agency Inc. (Assurance) based in Bellville, Texas, and Burridge Insurance Agency Inc. (Burridge) based in Angleton,...

BP Wins Ruling Keeping Prior Accidents Out of Gulf Spill Trial

Feb 20 2012 // BP Plc won a court order to keep references to some previous accidents out of the trial to assess blame for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the oil company’s second victory in as many days to bar potentially...

Is Common Law Bad Faith Dying in Texas?

Feb 20 2012 // When a carrier is sued for denying a claim, it is usual for policyholders to raise claims of bad faith. For decades now, policyholders have frequently pled both common law (i.e., law created by cases) and statutory (i.e.,...