Latest Texas Headlines

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

Drought Damage Extends to Texas Gulf Oysters

Aug 2 2011 // Tracy Woody heaved a hemp bag filled with oysters across the deck of his boat and began inspecting his catch. One shell after another was empty.It’s virtually official, Woody said: the third-worst drought in state...

Texas Hoped for Rain but Downgraded Don Disappoints

Aug 1 2011 // “Don is dead. The cyclone literally evaporated over Texas about as fast as I have ever seen without mountains involved.”That pronouncement from Forecaster Blake of the National Hurricane Center in the last...

20 in South Texas Plead Guilty to Insurance Fraud

Aug 1 2011 // Federal authorities say 20 South Texas residents have been convicted for their roles in a scheme to defraud the American Family Life Assurance Co.In mid-June, 36 people were indicted on accusations they participated in the...

People

Aug 1 2011 // Tim Brady, chairman and former CEO of Brady, Chapman, Holland and Associates in Houston, was named the 2011 Drex Foreman Award winner at the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas 114th Annual Conference & Trade Show...

Kitzman Named as Next Texas Commissioner of Insurance

Aug 1 2011 // Eleanor Kitzman is slated to become the next Texas Commissioner of Insurance on Aug. 15, 2011. Kitzman, the outgoing executive director of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board and past director of the South Carolina...

South Carolina Company Donates Fire Truck to Texas Department

Jul 29 2011 // A South Carolina company is donating a used fire truck to a Texas volunteer fire department whose station was destroyed by fire earlier this month.The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports Palmetto Fire Apparatus is...

Texas Mutual Distributes $155M in Policyholder Dividends

Jul 29 2011 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced it is distributing to policyholders $155 million in workers’ compensation dividends.Texas Mutual estimates that about 77 percent of its policyholders will earn a dividend based...

Study: Workers’ Comp Drug Costs Higher in Texas, Louisiana

Jul 29 2011 // A new study indicates that Louisiana had the highest workers’ compensation prescription costs among the 17 states studied and that Texas also was among the states with the highest cost of prescription drugs per...

Tropical Storm Don Expected to Hit South Texas Coast Overnight

Jul 29 2011 // A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the Texas coast from Matagorda Island to the mouth of the Rio Grande River. The National Hurricane Center expects Tropical Storm Don to make landfall on the south Texas coast...

Texas Agriculture Losses Could Set New Record Amid Drought

Jul 28 2011 // Randy McGee spent $28,000 in one month pumping water onto about 500 acres in West Texas before he decided to give up irrigating 75 acres of corn and focus on other crops that stood a better chance in the drought.He thought...

Tropical Storm Warning Issued for Texas Coast

Jul 28 2011 // The National Hurricane Center has issued tropical storm warnings and watches for areas along the Texas coast after the formation of Tropical Storm Don just north of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. As of 10 a.m. on July...

Season’s First Major Storm Threatens Gulf of Mexico, Texas

Jul 27 2011 // The first major Gulf of Mexico storm of the year is brewing over the northwestern Caribbean Sea, with an 80 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone as it heads northwest to the Texas coast, and posing a threat to...

Allstate Urging Texas Agency Owners to Boost Hiring of Sales Professionals

Jul 27 2011 // Allstate Insurance agency owners across Texas are planning to hire at least 350 licensed sales professionals by the end of the year, the company announced.Allstate is encouraging its 1,000 plus agency owners to continue to...

Oil and Gas Group Earns $1.8M Texas Mutual Dividend

Jul 26 2011 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced a $1.8 million dividend to the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TxOGA) safety group. The workers’ compensation dividend was based largely on the group’s overall loss...

5 Sentenced in Va. for $100M Fraud Scheme

Jul 25 2011 // Five men who pleaded guilty in a $100 million fraud scheme that claimed about 800 victims nationwide were sentenced Friday to federal prison terms ranging from three years to more than 15 years.The five included the...

South Carolina Budget Chief, Former Commissioner Heads to Texas

Jul 22 2011 // The director of the South Carolina agency that oversees much of state government operations has resigned, six months after Gov. Nikki Haley picked her for the job, to take a role in government in her home state of...

Texas Gov. Signs Windstorm Bill, Measure Affecting Surplus Lines

Jul 21 2011 // Legislative measures passed during the special session of the 82nd Legislature that impact the insurance industry in Texas have been signed by the governor. On July 19, Gov. Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill...

Zurich North America Commercial Offers Alternative to Texas Nonsubscribers

Jul 21 2011 // Property and casualty insurance Zurich announced its North America Commercial’s Accident & Health unit is now providing an alternative to Texas workers’ compensation coverage for employers who opt out of...

Kitzman Appointed as Next Texas Insurance Commissioner

Jul 20 2011 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced the appointment of Eleanor Kitzman of Austin as Texas Insurance Commissioner, effective Aug. 15, 2011, for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2013.She will replace Mike Geeslin, who announced earlier...

Texas Troopers: Special Enforcement Gets Drunk Drivers Off Roads

Jul 20 2011 // Texas Highway Patrol troopers arrested 1,406 intoxicated drivers during a special July 4 holiday enforcement program from June 27 through July 6 across the state.Of the 1406 arrests, 575 were made by troopers whose patrols...