Latest Texas Headlines

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

UM/UIM Developments

Mar 19 2001 // Insurance covers accidents. In the legal world, we call these “fortuities”, but it all boils down to accidental happenings. First-party insurance, for example property insurance, covers financial losses...

DRAMA in the Nonstandard Arena: The NONSTANDARD AUTO MARKET gets ready for action that will include

Mar 19 2001 // The nonstandard auto market enjoyed above-average growth and profitability across the country through much of the 1990s. In fact, by the late ’90s, low entry barriers, including modest surplus levels required to...

DRAMA in the Nonstandard Arena

Mar 12 2001 // The NONSTANDARD AUTO MARKET gets ready for action that will include increased RATES, risking LOSSES and overall market VOLATILITY.The nonstandard auto market enjoyed above-average growth and profitability across the...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Three Insurance Agencies

Mar 9 2001 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Has completed three acquisitions; MDM Insurance Associates, Inc. of Los Angeles, California; SKANCO International, Ltd. of Scottsdale, Arizona; and Madison Scott & Associates, Inc. of...

Texas Legislature Moves Few Bills

Mar 5 2001 // It will likely come as no surprise to those who have been following the Texas Legislature this session that very few insurance-related bills are expected to make it out of committee. At least it’s no surprise Bo...

Homeowner MAP Barely Breathing

Mar 5 2001 // In September of 1994, a busload of insurance industry members, legislators and business folks toured some of inner city Houston to see what Democratic Sen. Rodney Ellis saw in his district. Insurable houses. That’s...

ROC Study: Texas Workers’ Comp Claim Costs Topping the Charts

Mar 5 2001 // Texas has the highest average medical costs per workers’ compensation claim of nine states according to a survey recently released by the Texas Research and Oversight Council on Workers’ Compensation.The...

Fireworks at the Capitol

Mar 5 2001 // Commercial auto deregulation was supposed to be a yawner for the 77th Legislature. Sure, there was opposition, but with the Texas Department of Insurance backing the measure, no one could have expected the fireworks...

Insurance Committee Tackles Tough Issues at Initial Hearing

Feb 19 2001 // The Texas House of Represen-tatives’ Committee on Insurance kicked off its first meeting of the 77th Legislative Session Feb. 12 by reviewing 10 of 12 bills brought before it. An underlying theme of discrimination...

Commercial Auto-The LONG Road Back to Profitability

Feb 19 2001 // The signs were there in 2000—and now it can safely be said that prices in the commercial auto industry are definitely firming. But how long it will take the industry to truly return to profitability is still hard to...

Texas Case Watched Closely By Surplus Lines Industry

Feb 19 2001 // The Comptroller of Public Accounts in Texas is planning an appeal of a Third District Court ruling that found Dow Chemical Co. did not owe the comptroller taxes on independently procured insurance. The Comptroller’s...

NAFTA Panel: U.S. in Violation of Treaty

Feb 19 2001 // On Feb. 6, a North American Free Trade Agreement arbitration panel upheld an interim ruling opening the United States border to Mexican trucks. Many in the insurance industry say they will cautiously review the changes the...

NAFTA Ruling Expected to Allow U.S. Access to Mexican Trucks

Feb 12 2001 // A North American Free Trade Agreement arbitration panel is expected to uphold an interim ruling from November allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the United States. Many in the insurance industry say they will cautiously...

Gentlemen & Farmers

Feb 5 2001 // In fact, that’s much of the problem with many a bankrupt rancher, he’s got beef! If he sells it, he loses money and if he keeps it, he loses money. It’s the reality of hard economic times in agriculture...

The Reeducation of Texas Agents

Feb 5 2001 // Looming agent licensing changes stemming from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act could have a direct effect on how and what information agents receive through continuing education classes. Already, 30 states have begun preparing...

Anti-Fraud Efforts Become Top Priority For Departments of Insurance

Feb 5 2001 // In an effort to assist insurers and departments of insurance, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has undertaken the daunting task of compiling a directory of how departments of insurance across the country...

Let’s Talk

Feb 5 2001 // The ways that agents talk to one another are changing-a result of a developing profession that demands a lot more attention and time in the saddle. As commissions dropped with soft premiums, it made more sense for agents,...

Good Samaritan Liability

Feb 5 2001 // Following the Bible parable, a Good Samaritan is a person who reaches out and takes care of someone when he or she has no obligation to do so. Generally, Good Samaritans are to be praised, while those who pass on the other...

DALLAS FIRM SHUT DOWN BY TDI

Feb 5 2001 // A March hearing has been scheduled for the owner of a Maryland company whom Texas insurance regulators allege posed as president of a Dallas insurance company on at least one medical policy. Dr. Maruthi S. Manney, owner of...

Fund Eyed for Privatization; Industry Balks at Comptroller’s Recommendation to Sell TWCIF

Jan 22 2001 // As part of an effort to privatize government units, Texas State Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander has recommended that the Texas Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fund be sold to the highest bidder.The recommendation,...