Latest Texas Headlines

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

Montemayor Okays ISO Homeowners Forms

Aug 5 2002 // In his continuing quest to find solutions keep the Texas homeowners market from completely falling apart, Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor approved residential property policy forms developed by the Insurance...

Reynolds Urges Insurers to Get Active in Workers’ Comp Litigation Issues

Aug 5 2002 // Calling the medical fee guideline the most important element of the workers’ compensation legislation passed by the 77th Texas Legislature—House Bill 2600—Richard F. (Dick) Reynolds, executive director of the...

NAME CHANGE CAN’T HIDE FRAUD

Aug 5 2002 // A Travis County District Court found that a Houston company changed its name several times while trying to avoid prosecution for premium fraud, according to Texas Mutual Insurance Company. A.C. Lath & Plastering Inc.,...

A.M. Best Places Ratings for State Farm’s Calif. and Texas Subsidiaries under Review

Aug 1 2002 // A.M. Best Co. has placed the financial strength ratings of B+ (Very Good) for two separately rated subsidiaries of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm General Insurance Company (Bloomington, Ill.),...

Texas Mutual To Pay $22M in Dividends

Aug 1 2002 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company’s will be distributing some $22 million in dividends to qualifying policyholders for 2002 under a plan unanimously adopted by its Board of Directors.As in previous years, the 2002 plan...

Van Eeten Installed as AAIP President

Jul 31 2002 // The Austin Association of Insurance Professionals (AAIP), formerly known as Insurance Women of Austin, Texas, elected and installed Kathy Van Eeten, Crump Insurance Services, as its president for 2002/2003. Other officers...

Houston Firm Guilty of Premium Fraud

Jul 30 2002 // A Travis County (Texas) District Court found that a Houston company changed its name several times while allegedly trying to avoid prosecution for premium fraud, according to Texas Mutual Insurance Company. A.C. Lath...

Texas Workers’ Comp Commission Schedules Safety Seminar

Jul 26 2002 // The Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission’s Worker’s Health and Safety division will host a one-day seminar on general industrial safety from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Victorian Condo Hotel &...

CAA Members Elected to IIAT Leadership Positions

Jul 25 2002 // Austin, Texas-based Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA) announced that three of its members were recently elected to leadership positions with the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT). Elections were held at...

Texas Gubernatorial Candidates Face Off on Homeowners Rates

Jul 24 2002 // The two Texas gubernatorial candidates continue to trade barbs over the state’s tumultuous homeowners insurance market, further proving that higher premiums have become a major issue in the campaign.According to the...

Sanchez: Special Session Needed on Texas Homeowners Crisis

Jul 23 2002 // Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tony Sanchez is contending that Gov. Rick Perry should call a special session of the Texas Legislature to deal with the state’s reeling homeowners market. According to the...

WC Guidelines Under Fire

Jul 22 2002 // The Texas Medical Association (TMA) and the Texas AFL-CIO have filed a lawsuit to prevent adoption of new workers’ compensation guidelines by the Texas Workers Compensation Commission (TWCC). The Houston Chronicle...

A Short Walk Through Surplus Lines

Jul 22 2002 // To many insurance professionals, surplus lines policies are a mystery. Many think of it as a coverage for strange risks with odd provisions. But getting a grasp on surplus lines coverage is not difficult. Let’s take...

TDI Investigating Farmers’ New Homeowners Restrictions

Jul 22 2002 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor has initiated an investigation of Farmers Insurance Co. to determine whether new homeowners restrictions it put in place violate fair trade practices.The Austin...

Montemayor Approves ISO Homeowners Policy Form for Texas

Jul 22 2002 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor has approved homeowners policy forms from the Insurance Service Office (ISO) similar to policies used by insurers in other states.Insurers wanting to use the ISO form in Texas...

I.I.I. President Says Mold Reaching Crisis Proportions in Texas

Jul 22 2002 // Gordon Stewart, president of the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), said in Congressional testimony July 18 that mold has become a major factor in rising homeowners costs, reaching crisis proportions in Texas, and a...

TX Court Limits Med-Mal Exposure

Jul 22 2002 // The Texas state Supreme Court placed limits on health care providers’ medical malpractice exposure under the Medical Liability and Insurance Act by subjecting prejudgment interest to a cap on damages. A.M. Best...

A Short Walk Through Surplus Lines

Jul 22 2002 // To many insurance professionals, surplus lines policies are a mystery. Many think of it as a coverage for strange risks with odd provisions. But getting a grasp on surplus lines coverage is not difficult. Let’s take...

E&S Professionals Meet Challenges with Innovative Solutions

Jul 22 2002 // I was invited to speak to the San Antonio Independent Agents in January of 2000. At that moment I knew the property casualty insurance market was going to harden. They wanted to know what an excess and surplus lines broker...

Surplus Lines Industry Continues to Play its Role

Jul 22 2002 // Since it’s inception in the early 19th century, the surplus lines industry has played a significant role in the insurance world: providing the buyer with insurance not available in the standard, admitted markets. As...