Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Shipping Resumes in Houston Channel Closed After Chemical Tank Fire
Mar 26 2019 // The U.S. Gulf Coast’s most important industrial waterway partially reopened on Monday after it was polluted with cancer-causing benzene and toxic runoff from the region’s worst chemical disaster in more than a...
Houston Channel Still Closed as Chemical Fire Cleanup Continues; Texas Sues ITC
Mar 24 2019 // Vessels will be allowed to enter a tributary to the Houston Ship Channel this morning, a workaround allowing some shipping in the area as the main route into the region remains closed as a result of a cloud of...
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas to Pay $75K to Settle Disability Discrimination Suit
Mar 22 2019 // Federal employment regulators say BlueCross/Blue Shield of Texas (BCBS), based in Dallas, will pay $75,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit. According to the suit filed by the U.S....
Texas Senate Passes Harvey Relief Package
Mar 22 2019 // Texas state senators unanimously approved a multi-billion dollar Harvey aid package aimed at helping communities still struggling to recover after the historic storm and prepare for the next one, according to an...
Benzene Levels Rise near Petrochemical Fire Site; Residents Told to Shelter-in-Place
Mar 21 2019 // Tens of thousands of people east of Houston are being told to stay indoors after benzene and other volatile organic compounds were found in the air within the city limits of Deer Park, one day after a fire that broke out...
Texas Body Shop Owner Sentenced in Auto Insurance Fraud Case
Mar 20 2019 // A Travis County body shop owner has been sentenced to 10 years of probation after pleading guilty to reporting wrecks that never took place and damaging vehicles to increase insurance payouts, the Texas Department of...
Houston-Area Petrochemical Blaze Extinguished, Company Says
Mar 20 2019 // Firefighters on Wednesday extinguished a fire at a Mitsui & Co. petrochemical storage site outside Houston that has been billowing acrid smoke for days, the company said. The blaze at Mitsui unit Intercontinental...
Cotuno Joins Alliant’s Texas Benefits Team as VP
Mar 19 2019 // Houston-based benefits consultant Dan Cotuno has joined Alliant Insurance Services as vice president within the company’s Employee Benefits Group. Cotuno will provide integrated, data-driven benefits to a diverse...
Texas Insurer Group, State Farm Begin North Texas ‘Storm Tour’
Mar 18 2019 // Severe storms in Texas last week caused an estimated $30 million in damage and generated some 6,000 wind-related insurance claims, according to the Insurance Council of Texas, which joins State Farm Insurance in conducting...
Report: Texas Hospital Knew Elevator Needed Upgrade Before Malfunction
Mar 18 2019 // Officials knew a Forth Worth hospital elevator was in need of upgrades two years before a nurse was crushed and seriously injured when the elevator continued to rise as she tried to step inside, a maintenance audit...
USG Promotes Berger to Regional Manager in Texas
Mar 18 2019 // USG Insurance Services Inc., a national wholesaler and managing general agent (MGA), has promoted Jodi Berger to regional manager, based in Arlington, Texas. Berger joined USG in 2002 as a senior underwriter and was...
Consumer Advocacy in an Age of Consumer, Insurer Options
Mar 18 2019 // Today’s Insurance Consumer Advocates Are Tackling Some New and Old Issues Years ago, insurance consumer advocates in the states were most often focused on getting consumers access to insurance at fair prices. They...
Workers’ Comp Subscription Rate in Texas Fell From 2016 to 2018
Mar 18 2019 // Between 2016 and 2018, the percentage of private sector employers participating in the workers’ compensation system in Texas fell from 78 percent to 72 percent, according to a report released in February by the state...
New Forms, Rate Hikes Likely in 2019 Texas Homeowners Insurance Market
Mar 15 2019 // Texas independent insurance agents might want to warn their homeowner insurance customers that premium hikes and/or increases in deductibles could be on the horizon this year. Homeowners insurers have been filing for rate...
Texas Storms Injure 1, Damage Buildings, Flip Small Airplanes
Mar 14 2019 // Severe thunderstorms in North Texas have left at least one person hurt, damaged buildings and flipped small planes at a suburban airport. The Storm Prediction Center says gusts of more than 75 mph (120 kph) were reported...
Former Texas Hospital CEO Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud Scheme
Mar 12 2019 // The former CEO of Palo Pinto General Hospital in Palo Pinto, Texas, has pleaded guilty to defrauding three major insurance providers – BlueCross BlueShield of Texas, CIGNA Texas, and United Healthcare – out of millions...
Former Texas Agent Gets 5-Year Sentence for Selling Fake Insurance Policies
Mar 11 2019 // A San Antonio woman pleaded guilty to fraud after a Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) investigation found she pocketed money from clients who thought they were buying home policies. Cynthia Olague, a former insurance...
Texas’ CRC Group Launches Insurisk Brand, Partners with AMRISC on Property Products
Mar 8 2019 // Dallas-based CRC Group, a distributor of wholesale and specialty insurance products, has launched a new brand name for its exclusive products — Insurisk. Additionally, CRC Group has entered into an exclusive partnership...
Exxon Mobil, U.S. Reach Settlement Over 2013 Texas Refinery Fire
Mar 8 2019 // The U.S. Justice Department and Exxon Mobil Corp have reached a settlement resolving Clean Air Act violations stemming from a 2013 fire at the company’s Beaumont, Texas, refinery that killed two employees and injured...
Texas Insurance Adjuster Sentenced for Stealing $100K from Employer
Mar 7 2019 // A Spring, Texas, insurance adjuster has been sentenced for stealing nearly $100,000 from the insurance company where he worked, the Texas Department of Insurance announced. Allen Castillo pleaded guilty after an...
