Latest Texas Headlines

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

Austin Mulls Possible Text Messaging Ban

Nov 5 2008 // A possible ban on text messaging while driving is being explored by city officials in Austin, Texas, according to a newspaper report.The city of Austin’s public safety task force approved a resolution Nov. 3 that the...

Texan Sentenced in Workers’ Comp Fraud Case

Nov 5 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that Felix Prado of Falfurrias, Texas, pleaded guilty to workers’ compensation fraud-related charges. A Travis County district court sentenced Prado to 30 days in the Travis...

Study Calls for Sweeping Changes at Texas Department of Public Safety

Nov 3 2008 // Texas’ top law enforcement agency, which has been criticized for numerous problems including staffing levels when the governor’s mansion was set on fire, is in need of a major overaul, according to a report...

Nov 2 2008 // Tom Hughston, executive vice president of North Texas-based Roach Howard Smith & Barton (RHSB), has been named to the board of directors of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, a trade association...

Declarations

Nov 2 2008 // Huge Problem“Auto theft along the Texas/Mexico border is a huge problem and we welcome any crime prevention program that could help put a stop to this illegal activity.” —Charles Caldwell, interim director...

Texas Officials Blast Feds; Regulators Warn Insurers

Nov 2 2008 // Texas lawmakers have praised the state’s response to Hurricane Ike but are not quite so complimentary of the performance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the aftermath of the storm that made landfall in...

Three’s a Crowd

Nov 2 2008 // On Aug. 29, 2008, the Texas Supreme Court continued its recent foray into insurance law by issuing three important insurance coverage decisions. Each of these decisions merits consideration and will likely dramatically...

New York Closes Receivership of Insolvent Texas Insurer

Nov 2 2008 // The New York Liquidation Bureau said it has completed all necessary steps to bring to a close the ancillary receivership in New York of American Eagle Insurance Company, a Texas-based property/casualty firm declared...

New Markets

Nov 2 2008 // The following markets were selected from the MyNewMarkets database of 25,000 coverages and programs. To find additional markets, or to submit markets, go to www.MyNewMarkets.com.Eliminate Forced Placed Coverage Market...

Texas Teen Dies in Seat Belt Accident

Oct 31 2008 // Houston police say a 13-year-old boy apparently pretending to be strangled by a seat belt died when he got tangled in the safety device.Police spokesman Victor Senties on Oct. 28 said the child’s death appears to...

Texas Nonfatal Workplace Injury/Illness Rate at 5-Year Low in 2007

Oct 29 2008 // A total of 252,784 nonfatal injuries and illnesses were reported by private industry workplaces in Texas during 2007, the Texas Department of Insurance reported. The resulting rate of 3.4 cases per 100 equivalent full-time...

2008 a Rough Year for Texas Insurers

Oct 28 2008 // Insured losses in Texas lead all other states by a wide margin as claims from the state’s hurricanes continue to pour in, the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) reported. Insured losses from the first three quarters of...

Texas Lawmakers Critical of Federal Response to Hurricane

Oct 28 2008 // Lawmakers in Texas praised the state’s response to Hurricane Ike but some blasted the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at a recent meeting of the state Senate’s Transportation and...

Texas Windstorm Insurance Pool’s Mobile Claim Office Closing Nov. 5

Oct 28 2008 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) reported that adjusters have now made contact with all policyholders except those who have recently reported claims. As a result TWIA will close its mobile catastrophe claim...

Texas EMT Sentenced in Workers’ Comp Fraud Case

Oct 27 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that a Travis County district court sentenced Michael J. Rosenberg of McAllen, Texas, on workers’ compensation fraud-related charges. Rosenberg’s sentence included two...

RMS Estimates Ike Insured Losses Now in $13B to $21B Range

Oct 24 2008 // California-based Risk Management Solutions (RMS) updated its estimate for U.S. onshore and offshore insured losses from Hurricane Ike to $13 billion to $21 billion, of which $10 billion to – $15 billion is estimated...

2,000 Texas Families Moving to FEMA Trailers

Oct 24 2008 // Texas state officials are working to locate housing for 400 Hurricane Ike victims living in a Red Cross shelter scheduled to close Oct. 26, according to a newspaper report.Meanwhile, 2,000 people, primarily in Galveston...

Texas Exec Named to The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers Board

Oct 23 2008 // Tom Hughston, executive vice president of North Texas-based Roach Howard Smith & Barton (RHSB), has been named to the board of directors of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, a trade association...

Texas Monitoring for Fairness in Treatment of Ike-Affected Policyholders

Oct 23 2008 // In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) reported it has received complaints from consumers indicating that through the words, tone, demeanor or actions of their insurance adjusters, they...

Spilman Named Governmental Affairs Manager for Texas Agents Group

Oct 22 2008 // With the 81st Texas Legislative Session just around the corner, the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) and its Trusted Choice agencies have appointed Annie Spilman as governmental affairs manager.Spilman will...