Latest Texas Headlines

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

Leal, Pekar Join Texas-Based TDECU Insurance Agency

Jan 4 2012 // Vickie Leal and Kathleen Pekar have joined TDECU Insurance Agency LLC in Lake Jackson, Texas, as the agency’s newest licensed agents. Leal is serving the insurance needs of community and credit union members in...

Texas-Based Barhorst Insurance Group Rebrands as Iscential

Dec 30 2011 // Houston-based insurance agency, Barhorst Insurance Group (BIG), announced it is beginning the new year with a new name: Iscential.The rebranding initiative includes a new name, logo and tagline that represent the...

Texas Windpool E-Quote System to Be Disabled Dec. 30 – Jan. 3

Dec 29 2011 // Changes in the billing and commission program at Texas’ insurer of last resort for coastal property will prompt a shut down of the agency’s E-Quote system over the long New Year holiday weekend.Due to the...

Texas Work Comp Discount, Interest Rate Set for Q1 2012

Dec 29 2011 // The workers’ compensation interest and discount rate in Texas for the first quarter of 2012 has been set at 3.61 percent. The rate will be effective beginning Jan. 1, 2012, through Mar. 31, 2012, the Texas Department...

Genstar Capital Acquires Innovative Aftermarket Systems of Texas

Dec 26 2011 // San Francisco-based private equity firm Genstar Capital, LLC said it has acquired Innovative Aftermarket Systems, which underwrites and markets motor vehicle protection products and related services sold through franchised...

Texas House Members Object to Medical Loss Ratio Waiver Request

Dec 22 2011 // A group of lawmakers in Texas are urging the state’s insurance commissioner to withdraw a request for a waiver to the medical loss ratio (MLR) provision in the federal health insurance reform law. They say the...

Study: Reforms Impacted Growth in Texas Workers’ Comp Claim Costs

Dec 21 2011 // The average cost of a workers’ compensation claim in Texas grew 5 percent in 2009, reflecting the impact of recent medical fee schedule increases and possibly some effect of the recession, according to a new study by...

EPA Reports Suggests Asbestos Exposure in Texas

Dec 21 2011 // An experimental asbestos demolition method used to tear down a Fort Worth, Texas, apartment building four years ago may have exposed workers and the public to carcinogenic fibers, the Environmental Protection Agency...

Drought Destroyed Half a Billion Trees in Texas in 2011

Dec 20 2011 // As many as 500 million trees scattered across the Lone Star State have died this year as a result of the unrelenting drought, according to preliminary estimates from Texas Forest Service.The Texas Forest Service reports...

Johnson Elected to Lead Insurance Council of Texas Board

Dec 20 2011 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) has elected Joe Johnson chairman of the board of directors beginning Jan. 1, 2012.Johnson is vice president and regional manager of the United Fire Group. Johnson has served 35 years in...

Texas Mutual Pays Combined $690K to 4 Safety Groups

Dec 20 2011 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced that four workers’ compensation safety groups have earned a combined $690,036 in dividends: Texas Recreation Group, $278,353; Texas Construction Supply, $200,752; Texas Green...

TWFG Expands in Texas, California

Dec 19 2011 // The Woodlands Financial Group Inc. (TWFG), a retail and managing general agency headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, announced new branch locations. Chad Luitwieler opened a new office in Brea, Calif. Luitwieler comes to...

Allstate Rates for Texas Homeowners Could Go Up

Dec 19 2011 // Allstate Insurance has asked Texas regulators to allow the company to raise homeowner rates by nearly 10 percent for some customers.Allstate spokesman Joe McCormick told the Dallas Morning News that the industry is...

Appeals Court in Texas Accepts State Farm Refunds Case

Dec 16 2011 // State Farm Insurance has asked an appeals court to throw out an order requiring the company to refund about $350 million to Texas customers.A three-judge panel of the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin took the case under...

FEMA Expands Wildfires Declaration to 119 Texas Counties

Dec 16 2011 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has expanded its wildfires disaster declaration area for Texas to include 119 counties.Gov. Rick Perry announced that FEMA has granted the state’s request to increase the...

Test Your Insurance News Knowledge

Dec 16 2011 // Are you an insurance news hound? Test your insurance news IQ and find out. The following questions and answers (see bottom of the page) were developed based on news stories published on InsuranceJournal.com and...

FEMA: Texas Wildfire Survivors Should Consider Flood Insurance

Dec 15 2011 // Flood protection might be the last concern of Texas wildfire survivors these days. Yet Texans — even those who live in areas not rated at high risk of flooding — should consider purchasing a flood insurance policy now,...

Texas Mutual Board Elects New Officers

Dec 15 2011 // Workers’ compensation provider Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced that its board of directors has elected two new officers — Linda Foster-Smith of Georgetown and Jay Eisen of Beaumont. Foster-Smith has been...

Texas School May Build Safety Wall After Shooting Injures Students

Dec 15 2011 // Dozens of law enforcement officers trudged through soggy brush near a South Texas middle school on Dec. 13 looking for casings and other evidence to help explain how two boys were shot while they were trying out for the...

Texas Work-Related Injuries, Illnesses Decrease Again in 2010

Dec 14 2011 // Private industry employers in Texas reported a 5.8 percent decrease in nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work during 2010 for a total of 56,720.With the 2010 decrease, Texas has seen a...