Latest Texas Headlines

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

Hub International Acquires Texas-based Roy Agency

Jul 5 2011 // Chicago-based Hub International Limited (Hub) has acquired the Roy Agency Inc. (Roy), an insurance brokerage firm headquartered in Plano, Texas.The Roy team will become part of Hub International Rigg (Hub Texas). Agency...

Pres. Obama Signs Disaster Declaration for Texas Wildfires

Jul 5 2011 // President Barack Obama has signed a major disaster declaration for parts of Texas ravaged by wildfires in April and early May, ordering federal aid to help state and local recovery efforts.The White House had previously...

Certificates of Insurance Legislation Signed by Texas Governor

Jul 4 2011 // Texas Gov. Rick Perryhas signed into law a measure backed by agents that requires regulatory approval of property and casualty certificate of insurance forms provided to insureds as proof of insurance coverage.Certificates...

People

Jul 4 2011 // Liberty Mutual Group’s Edmund F. Kelly retired from active management of the company on June 28, 2011. David H. Long replaced Kelly as president and CEO. Kelly will continue to serve as chairman of the board of...

Hallmark Financial Completes Acquisition of Texas Builders Insurance

Jul 1 2011 // Hallmark Financial Services Inc., based in Fort Worth, has completed its previously disclosed acquisition of TBIC Holding Corporation, including its wholly owned subsidiaries Texas Builders Insurance Co. and TBIC Risk...

Kuchta Joins Texas-based Homeowners of America Insurance

Jul 1 2011 // Homeowners of America Insurance Co., based in Irving, Texas, has added Heidi Kuchta as sales representative for the Fort Worth area. Kuchta has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. Her experience...

Many South Texas Windstorm Inspections Turn Out to Be Bogus

Jun 30 2011 // Owners of more than 400 homes and businesses in South Texas will be notified that their windstorm insurance reviews were done by a bogus inspector. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association says coverage for the Corpus...

Man Sues Catholic Diocese in Texas on Abuse Claims

Jun 30 2011 // A man who alleges he was sexually molested by a Catholic priest in the 1970s has filed a civil lawsuit against a West Texas diocese and the Jesuits, claiming the defendants knew or should have known of the abuses and...

$400M Impact Seen From East Texas Wildfires

Jun 30 2011 // Wildfires that devastated East and Southeast Texas last week not only destroyed homes but also millions of cubic feet of forest timber, authorities said.According to the Texas Forest Service, a fire in Grimes County that...

Texas Windstorm Reform Bill Passes; Sent to Governor

Jun 29 2011 // The Texas Legislature finally worked out a compromise bill of reforms to the state’s insurance provider of last resort for wind and hail for properties along the Texas coast.The House and Senate reached agreement on...

Texas Takes 26.5% of ‘Roadchecked’ Commercial Vehicles Out of Service

Jun 24 2011 // During the recent 72-hour Roadcheck 2011 program, the Texas Department of Public Safety and other Texas law enforcement agencies inspected 7,993 commercial vehicles. Of the vehicles inspected, 26.5 percent were placed out...

Texas Senate Passes Windstorm Bill

Jun 23 2011 // The Texas Senate has passed a bill intended to improve the state’s coastal windstorm insurance agency, clarifying the claims process and increasing transparency at the agency.The measure to reform the Texas Windstorm...

Medicus Insurance Lowers Rates in 6 States

Jun 21 2011 // Austin, Texas-based medical professional liability insurance carriers Medicus Insurance Co., has lowered its base rates for physicians and medical professionals in Arizona, Kansas, Nevada, Ohio, Texas and Virginia. Medicus...

Wildfires Burn 3 Dozen Homes Across Texas

Jun 21 2011 // Firefighters in Texas are attempting to contain more wildfires after several blazes broke out across the state and destroyed more than three dozen homes.Hundreds of people were told to evacuate June 19 after fires swept...

Texas Governor Vetoes Texting While Driving Bill

Jun 20 2011 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry vetoed 23 bills on June 17, including legislation that would have outlawed sending or reading text messages while driving.Lawmakers approved the texting ban last month, but Perry called it an...

Rio Grande Valley Insurance Broker Sentenced to Prison

Jun 20 2011 // A 47-year-old Harlingen, Texas, man was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for a scheme to defraud a Rio Grande Valley hospital of more than $3.8 million by selling it nonexistent and altered insurance...

Federal Appeals Court Reverses Lower Court on Texas ‘Ambulance Chasing’ Bill

Jun 20 2011 // A federal court of appeals has overturned a lower court’s ruling that an “anti-ambulance chasing” bill in Texas is unconstitutional.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined that U.S....

Business Moves

Jun 20 2011 // William Gammon, Higginbotham & AssociatesTexas-based independent insurance agencies William Gammon Insurance and Higginbotham & Associates merged. The combined company has more than 500 professionals providing...

‘Loser Pay’ Comes to Texas

Jun 20 2011 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed legislation into law commonly referred to as the “Loser Pay Rule.” Immediately, the national press jumped on this new statute as an example of a major step forward in tort...

Use of Credit-based Insurance Scores in Texas Upheld

Jun 20 2011 // Texas law permits an insurer to use race-neutral factors in credit scoring to price personal lines of insurance. That’s the conclusion of the Texas Supreme Court, which considered a certified question from the Ninth...