Latest Texas Headlines

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

Texas Insurance Department Warns of Fake Text Scams

Jul 28 2021 // The Texas Department of Insurance said fake text messages claiming to be from the agency have been reported. Texas residents should beware of these text messages, TDI said.Scam artists can make phone numbers appear to be...

Hendricks, President of Texas’ Specialty Insurance Managers, to Retire

Jul 28 2021 // Sherri Hendricks, a Texas insurance professional with an extensive career in the industry and current president of Austin-based Specialty Insurance Managers, is retiring.In 1980, Hendricks began her career in insurance in...

Texas Veterans Homes Often the Deadliest Places During COVID-19 Pandemic

Jul 27 2021 // Mary Kay Dieterich was encouraged last year when Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush promised to shake up the management of the El Paso nursing home where her father died of COVID-19.She knew it wouldn’t bring...

‘Holy Moly!’: Inside the Fight Against a Texas Ransomware Hack

Jul 27 2021 // It was the start of a steamy Friday two Augusts ago when Jason Whisler settled in for a working breakfast at the Coffee Ranch restaurant in the Texas Panhandle city of Borger. The most pressing agenda item for city...

Texas Lifting Insurance-Related COVID-19 Suspensions

Jul 26 2021 // A bulletin issued by the Texas Department of Insurance outlines actions the agency is taking to return to the ordinary course of business after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott rescinded suspensions of insurance-related statutes and...

Study: Many Texas Households Lack Homeowner’s Insurance

Jul 26 2021 // A study conducted the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University following winter storm Uri revealed a widespread lack of homeowners insurance in the state.The study shows households that are low-income,...

Louisiana ‘Good,’ but Texas Lags in IBHS Building Code Rankings

Jul 23 2021 // Texas has a long way to go but despite getting hit by four hurricanes and one tropical storm in 2020, Louisiana still ranks as one of the top 10 states for resilience based on its statewide building codes.The “Rating...

Officials: Texas Home Explosion May Have Been Intentional

Jul 22 2021 // The explosion that destroyed a house in suburban Dallas on July 19 and heavily damaged the two next door, injuring six people, may not have been an accident, officials said.Previously, fire officials had said that a gas...

5% Rate Increase Recommended for Texas Windstorm Insurer

Jul 22 2021 // The Actuarial & Underwriting Committee for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has recommended that the association’s board vote at its Aug. 3 meeting to file for a 5% rate increase for residential...

Incident at Texas Dow Chemical Plant Prompts Shelter Order

Jul 22 2021 // Emergency officials issued evacuation or shelter-in-place orders in the morning July 21 for some people in a Houston-area city because of a “chemical incident” at a plant in the area. The shelter-in-place order...

Texas’ Incline P&C Group Partners with CRC’s 5Star Specialty Programs

Jul 20 2021 // Austin, Texas-based Incline P&C Group, through its Incline Casualty Co., is partnering with CRC Group’s 5Star Specialty Programs on transportation risks.Incline P&C Group is an insurance program market...

Chemical Leak at Texas Water Park Sends 29 to Hospital

Jul 19 2021 // A chemical leak at a Houston-area water park left dozens suffering from minor skin irritation and respiratory issues on July 17, authorities said.Twenty-nine people were taken to local hospitals following the incident at...

Texas Supreme Court Tosses Lawsuits Against Store Over 2017 Church Shooting

Jul 19 2021 // The Texas Supreme Court in late June ruled survivors and relatives of those killed in a 2017 mass killing at a church can’t sue a sporting goods chain for selling the gunman the rifle used in the attack.The court...

Louisiana ‘Good,’ Texas ‘Poor’ in IBHS Building Code Rankings

Jul 19 2021 // Texas has a long way to go but despite getting hit by four hurricanes and one tropical storm in 2020, Louisiana still ranks as one of the top 10 states for resilience based on its statewide building codes.The Rating the...

Texas House Honors TSLA’s Patterson for 40 Years of Service

Jul 16 2021 // In 2006, when Jean Patterson, executive director of the Texas Surplus Lines Association, was marking her 25 years with the organization, she said her relationships with the “wonderful members” of TSLA are what...

Death Toll from February Extreme Cold in Texas Rises to 210

Jul 15 2021 // State officials on July 13 added 59 deaths to the toll wrought by the Feb. 14 cold wave and the ensuing collapse of the Texas electric power grid.The deaths newly tallied by the Texas Department of State Health Services...

Texas Man Ordered to Pay $410K in Restitution for Fake Medical Bills

Jul 13 2021 // A Texas man must serve 10 years probation and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution after fraudulently filing claims for medical tests he was not authorized to perform on workers allegedly including his...

People Moves: Oklahoma’s OGA Adds 4; Patterson Honored by Texas Legislature

Jul 13 2021 // One General Agency (OGA) in Oklahoma City added four new team members.Jennifer Konemann is the firm’s new workers’ compensation underwriter. She has more than 25 years of experience as a commercial lines...

Texas Medical Equipment Company Owners Convicted of $27M Fraud

Jul 13 2021 // The Dallas-area owners and operators of two durable medical equipment companies have been convicted on insurance fraud and money laundering charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas...

Texas Outlines Changes to Insurance Agent Licensing Requirements

Jul 12 2021 // A bulletin released by the Texas Department of Insurance summarizes the changes to the requirements for agent licensing contained in HB 4030, passed this year by the 87th Texas Legislature.TDI outlined the revisions as...