Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Several States See Drop in Opioid-Related Workers’ Compensation Claims: WCRI
Aug 4 2017 // As states institute opioid policies to address the opioid epidemic, a new study has found considerable decreases in the prevalence of longer-term dispensing of opioids to injured workers in a number of states studied. The...
Fracking-Related Water Problems Raise Issues in West Texas
Aug 3 2017 // A West Texas land baron and oilman is on the verge of pumping 5.4 million gallons of water a day from far under the desert mountains here and piping it 60 miles to the nation’s most bountiful oil field, the Permian...
Family of Man Who Died In Texas Jail Lobby Sue
Aug 2 2017 // The wife and mother of a Texas man who died after a struggle with deputies in the Dallas County jail lobby filed a lawsuit alleging excessive force by four deputies and lack of training by the Dallas County Sheriff’s...
Older Workers at Greater Risk of Dying in Workplace Accidents
Aug 2 2017 // Older people are dying on the job at a higher rate than workers overall, even as the rate of workplace fatalities decreases, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal statistics. It’s a trend that’s...
Drug Use Common Among West Texas Oil Field Workers
Aug 1 2017 // Eddy Lozoya never failed a drug test in the three years he hauled water and sand across the West Texas oil patch, even though he used at least $200 a day in cocaine to keep his eyes open on brutally long days behind the...
Texas’ Threlkeld & Co., Employee Benefits Consulting, Create New Entity
Aug 1 2017 // Threlkeld & Co. Insurance, an East Texas firm with 30-plus years in the benefits market, has formed a partnership with Employee Benefits Consulting LLC, a Tyler, Texas, firm with Houston and Dallas connections owned...
Former Postal Worker Sentenced in Texas for Federal Workers’ Comp Fraud
Aug 1 2017 // A U.S. district judge in Texas has sentenced a former postal employee to 21 months in federal prison for participating in a scheme to defraud the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Worker’s Compensation...
Texas Surplus Lines Stamping Office Website to Begin Redirect
Jul 31 2017 // The Surplus Lines Stamping Office (SLTX) announced that beginning Aug. 1, users who visit the website, www.slsot.org, will be automatically redirected to the new SLTX website at www.sltx.org. The new website is part of a...
Rogers Named IIAT’s Customer Service Representative of the Year
Jul 31 2017 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) has named Cheryl Rogers of K&S Insurance in Rockwall as its Customer Service Representative (CSR) of the Year. Rogers was presented with the award at IIAT’s 120th...
Texas Senate OKs Bill That Preempts Local Texting While Driving Rules
Jul 28 2017 // The Texas Senate has approved a beefed-up texting while driving ban that preempts existing local ordinances against distracted driving in 45 cities statewide. In May, the Republican-controlled Legislature made Texas one of...
Independent Insurance Agents of Texas Names New Board Members, Top Young Agent
Jul 27 2017 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) elected William Page of Wortham Insurance in Austin; Brad Hempkins of Hempkins Insurance in Allen; and Nathan Sawyer of Sawyer & Associates in Monahans to its board of...
Former Texas Workers’ Comp Commissioner Bordelon Joins Granite Public Affairs
Jul 27 2017 // Former Texas Public Insurance Counsel and former Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Rod Bordelon has joined Austin-based Granite Public Affairs where he will lead the firm’s insurance and regulatory affairs...
TCOR Management’s Dudney to Chair Texas Independent Insurance Agents Group
Jul 27 2017 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) elected Rick Dudney of TCOR Management in New Braunfels to serve as chairman for 2017-2018 during IIAT’s 120th Annual Conference and Trade Show in Fort Worth. Dudney...
Texas Bill Allows More Flexibility in Employee Health Benefit Plans
Jul 26 2017 // Small employers in Texas may now get some flexibility in selecting and retaining the health benefit plan of their choosing for their employees following the passage of a bill in the regular session of the Texas...
Surplus Lines Insurance Premium Up Nationwide
Jul 26 2017 // A mid-year compilation of excess and surplus (E&S) insurance premium amounts by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) shows a 6.6 percent increase in premium nationally compared with the same period last...
Team Work Ready Execs Sentenced in Federal Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme
Jul 25 2017 // Two officials with Team Work Ready (TWR), with chiropractic and physical therapy clinics in Texas and Louisiana, have been sentenced for defrauding the federal Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs and United...
Texas Seeks Applicants for Medical Liability Insurance Underwriting Board
Jul 25 2017 // The Texas Department of Insurance is accepting applications through August 31 for the public member positions on the Texas Medical Liability Insurance Underwriting Association Board of Directors. The appointment is for one...
Business Moves
Jul 24 2017 // EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, After Inc. EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property and casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, has acquired After Inc., a product warranty...
2016 Texas Hail Losses Top $5B
Jul 24 2017 // Wind and hail loss information for 2016 released recently by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) show that homeowner losses from hail in Texas were the highest annual losses ever recorded, as they exceeded $5 billion,...
Surplus Lines Market Keeps Up with Demand for Cyber Liability Coverage
Jul 24 2017 // In Texas and across the nation, the surplus lines insurance market is keeping up with the increase in demand for cyber liability protection, according to the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX). SLTX recorded a...
