Latest Texas Headlines

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

Report Finds Accidents at Nation’s High-Risk Biolabs Increasing

Oct 3 2007 // American laboratories handling the world’s deadliest germs and toxins have experienced more than 100 accidents and missing shipments since 2003, and the number is increasing steadily as more labs across the country...

Starr International Buys Texas-based P/C Insurer from Berkshire Hathaway

Oct 3 2007 // Starr International Co. Inc. announced its U.S. subsidiary, Starr International USA Inc. (SICO USA), acquired Republic Insurance Co. from Columbia Insurance Co., a member of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway...

Texas Renews 13 Companies to Self-Insure for Workers’ Comp Claims

Oct 3 2007 // Thirteen companies with approximately 49,800 employees in Texas were approved to self-insure for workers’ compensation claims for a one-year period under the Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’...

Flurry of Rita-related Lawsuits Filed in Southeast Texas

Oct 2 2007 // The second anniversary of Hurricane Rita has brought a flood of lawsuits in southeast Texas and raised questions about the deadline for filing such petitions.“It’s getting serious,” Jefferson County...

Texas to Hold Hearing on Work Comp Monitoring and Enforcement Rule

Oct 2 2007 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI) will hold a public hearing on Oct. 29, 2007, in the Tippy Foster Room at 7551 Metro Center Drive, Suite 100 in Austin.The public hearing will...

Texas Receives More Than $55M in Disaster Aid After Summer Storms

Sep 28 2007 // Disaster assistance to Texas residents and businesses affected by June 16 – Aug. 3 severe storms, tornadoes and flooding has reached $55,541,143, according to state and federal officials.The aid comes from the U.S....

Texas Repeals Workers’ Comp Treatment Planning Rule

Sep 27 2007 // A rule that would have required treating doctors in the Texas Workers’ Compensation System to complete a treatment plan for non-network workers’ compensation patients in specific situations was repealed on...

Fireman’s Fund Adds Liability Cover for Senior Facilities in Texas, Fla.

Sep 27 2007 // Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company announced it has added general and professional liability coverages in Texas and Florida for assisted and independent living facilities. The company said the addition completes its...

Texas AG Launches School Safety Initiative

Sep 27 2007 // Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has called for new safety measures designed to protect students from school violence, the attorney general’s office reported.Abbott, whose office serves on the Texas School Safety...

Texas AG Resolves Rita Price-Gouging Case against San Antonio Hotel

Sep 26 2007 // Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott reached a settlement with Wyndham Hotel Management Inc., on behalf of The St. Anthony, a Wyndham Historic Hotel Inc., and Wyndham International Inc., as the result of an investigation...

La., Texas Towns Recovering Slowly 2 Years after Hurricane Rita

Sep 25 2007 // Cameron, La., and Weirgate, Texas, have something in common: both are recovering slowly two years after Hurricane Rita blew through them in September 2005.According to Associated Press reports, nearly everyone in Cameron...

Texas Sets Discount, Interest Rate for Oct. 1 – Dec. 31, 2007

Sep 25 2007 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation has determined 7.66 percent to be the rate for any interest or discount provided for in workers’ compensation statute. The rate is effective...

The CHANGING FACE of Surplus Lines Brokers

Sep 24 2007 // The surplus lines industry is never boring, never plain and certainly never black and white. Often dubbed as the innovator of new insurance products, the industry could even be considered colorful when it comes to the...

My New Markets

Sep 24 2007 // Private Schools (K-12)Nuts & Bolts: Markel Insurance Co. is an admitted, “A” -rated carrier that insures private K-12, Montessori, charter, trade/vocational, business, and correspondence schools. Available...

Business Moves

Sep 24 2007 // The Republic GroupThe Republic Group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, announced its entry into the personal and commercial lines insurance markets in Mississippi. The companies will distribute homeowners, dwelling fire,...

Business Moves

Sep 24 2007 // Endurance Specialty, ARMTechEndurance Specialty Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, reported that one of its U.S. based holding companies is buying out ARMtech...

A policyholder bonanza: Texas Supreme Court decides Lamar Homes

Sep 24 2007 // The Supreme Court also disagreed with the district court’s common sense ruling that faulty workmanship that damages the property of a third party is a covered “occurrence,” whereas faulty workmanship that...

People

Sep 24 2007 // The National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices selected officers and directors for the trade association’s 2007-2008 term.The new officers are: President – Mary Ellen Rozzell,...

Humberto lands in Texas, sweeps across La.

Sep 24 2007 // Hurricane Humberto, a category 1 hurricane that formed quickly off the coast of Texas, plowed into the southeast corner of the state on Sept. 13 bringing with it heavy rains and 80 miles per hour winds. The hurricane made...

OSHA Fines 4 Construction Companies for Texas Worksite Death

Sep 24 2007 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined four construction companies $119,550 following an investigation into fatality at a Dallas, Texas, worksite.OSHA announced it...