Latest Texas Headlines

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

Restraining Order Issued Against Two Texas Agents

Jun 13 2002 // Texas State District Judge Pete Lowry has issued a temporary restraining order against Robert Harrison of Richmond and Pete Ballard of San Antonio to keep them from selling reported bogus commercial insurance coverages and...

Westport Names Administrator of TX Lawyers’ Liability Program

Jun 12 2002 // Westport Insurance Corporation, an Overland, Kan.-based unit of GE, has chosen Marsh Affinity Group Services as the program administrator in Texas for its lawyer’s professional liability insurance program. Westport...

Fake Stucco, Real Trouble: EIFS-Related Claims Constrict CGL Markets

Jun 11 2002 // Mold may be getting all the attention at the moment as a major threat to insurers, at least in Texas and California, but another problem has wreaked havoc for homeowners, carriers, and contractors nationwide for several...

Insurers & Contractors Trying to Nail DownProper Coverage

Jun 10 2002 // If you’re placing coverage for contractors, there are three factors that determine what obstacles you will encounter: location, location, location.The real question is whether it will stay that way or whether...

NBIS Contracts Program to Build Upon

Jun 10 2002 // From mold to construction defects, contractors and those who insure them can run into a mound of claims when building.One company who has stepped in to construct a program for contractors is Nevada-based National Builders...

Coverage Already in Place Can Help Protect Travel Plans

Jun 10 2002 // Ahh, summer—vacations to the coast or the mountains, cruises to Alaska, treks to far-off, exotic lands. Even if you’re not treating yourself or your family to a once-in-a-lifetime vacation this year, some of your...

Insurers Look to Wipe Clean Toxic Mold Claims

Jun 10 2002 // For U.S. insurers, reinsurers, and property professionals still reeling from the $32 million a Texas jury awarded Melinda Ballard in her toxic mold lawsuit against Farmers Insurance last year and the $18.5 million a...

Insurers & Contractors Trying to Nail Down Proper Coverage

Jun 10 2002 // If you’re placing coverage for a client who is a contractor, there are three factors that determine what obstacles you will encounter: location, location, location. The real question, however, is whether it will stay...

Late Notice May Insure Responsibility for Pre-Tender Defense Costs

Jun 10 2002 // Texas requires automobile liability insurers and general liability insurers to include language in their policies establishing a “prejudice” requirement before late notice can be used as a defense. For...

Who’s Who Across Texas, Local Associations at Work

Jun 10 2002 // Here’s what some of the local Big “I” chapters have been doing over the past year:The Amarillo chapter is currently providing college scholarships to children of agency staff members. Speakers throughout...

Goodbyes, New Directions and Thank Yous

Jun 10 2002 // It’s goodbye time. After 20 years at the helm of IIAT, and 62 years on this planet, it’s time for me to head in a new direction.But first, I hope you’ll permit me a few musings. I leave this job with the...

TX Updates Consumer Bill of Rights

Jun 10 2002 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor has approved updates to a consumer bill of rights, which automobile and residential property insurers are obligated to provide their policyholders. According to the Texas...

Caliber One Exiting E&S Lines; Calif., Texas Were Top 2 States of Business

May 27 2002 // Saying the move will allow the company to devote all of its financial resources and managerial attention to its best performing businesses, PMA Capital has decided to withdraw from the excess and surplus (E&S) lines...

Protect Your Customers from Watered-DownPWC Coverage

May 27 2002 // The United States boasts nearly 51 million acres of lakes, 633,000 miles of rivers and 88,600 miles of coastal shoreline. So, it’s little wonder that water recreation is a popular summer pastime. In recent years,...

Politics of a Long, Hot Summer

May 27 2002 // Like summer, the political season is bearing down upon us. And like summer, this political year is destined to only get hotter and hotter.In Texas, with the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general...

Caliber One Exiting E&S Lines; Calif., Texas Were Top 2 States of Business

May 27 2002 // Saying the move will allow the company to devote all of its financial resources and managerial attention to its best performing businesses, PMA Capital has decided to withdraw from the excess and surplus (E&S) lines...

Watch the Skies, Weather Still Causing Trouble for Homeowners Markets

May 27 2002 // For the past year, while the Texas homeowners insurance market reeled from the effects of mold claims on premium (and still does), homeowners markets in other states have begun bracing themselves for similar nightmare...

Politics of a Long, Hot Summer

May 27 2002 // Like summer, the political season is bearing down upon us. And like summer, this political year is destined to only get hotter and hotter.In Texas, with the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general...

Court Cripples Insurers’ Med. Bill Audits

May 27 2002 // A Texas appellate court has ruled that insurers have no authority to audit medical bills, a move that could hobble their ability to prevent fraud and keep down workers’ compensation costs, according to the American...

USAA Ordered to Pay Sales and Use Taxes

May 27 2002 // Texas District Court Judge Margaret Cooper has ruled that USAA Insurance Co. of San Antonio is liable for sales, motor vehicle and fuel taxes, and Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander believes the ruling could save the...