Latest Texas Headlines

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

Court Says Trump Administration Must Implement Chemical Safety Rule

Aug 20 2018 // A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the Trump administration to immediately implement an Obama-era chemical safety rule introduced in response to a 2013 explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas that killed 15...

TWIA Requests 10% Rate Increase; Approves $106.8M Assessment for Harvey Losses

Aug 20 2018 // The board of directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association voted at its recent quarterly meeting to raise rates for residential and commercial properties by 10 percent next year, while acknowledging a rate...

Business Moves

Aug 20 2018 // TrueNorth, Gateway Insurance Services TrueNorth Companies has acquired Iowa-based Gateway Insurance Services, which will adopt the TrueNorth name and brand. With locations in Ames and Iowa Falls, Gateway Insurance Services...

ICT to Begin Annual Texas ‘Hurricane Tour’

Aug 17 2018 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) is set to launch its annual “hurricane tour” aimed at reminding coastal residents to be ready in case a hurricane or tropical storm should make landfall this year. Beginning...

Lingering Texas Drought Has Ranchers Reducing Herds

Aug 16 2018 // A growing number of Texas ranchers and farmers are trimming their livestock, or selling them altogether, as the persistent drought has eliminated water supplies and forage for the animals. Some landowners describe a...

Texas Insurance Department: Harvey Claims Reporting Deadline Approaching

Aug 15 2018 // As the anniversary of Hurricane Harvey approaches, the Texas Department of Insurance is reminding Texans that some insurance policies have a one-year deadline to file claims. Harvey made landfall August 25. Texas Windstorm...

Firefighters With Cancer Often Denied Workers’ Comp in Texas

Aug 15 2018 // Many Texas cities are denying workers’ compensation to firefighters with cancer, according to union leaders and state lawmakers. Over the past six years, more than 90 percent of the 117 workers compensation claims...

Nearly Year After Harvey, Recovery Continues in South Texas Town

Aug 14 2018 // Armonie Brown in Refugio, Texas, pauses for a second when asked about Hurricane Harvey. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports Brown saw friends and teammates lose their homes and all their belongings, while the school he...

Texas’ Murex Petroleum Sued for Allowing Racial Harassment, Hostile Workplace

Aug 9 2018 // A Texas-based oil and gas company, operating in Tioga, N.D., violated civil rights law by subjecting an African-American employee to a hostile work environment based on his race, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...

Texas Windstorm Insurance Association: Rates Inadequate by More Than 30%

Aug 9 2018 // While the board of the directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association voted at its recent quarterly meeting to raise rates for residential and commercial properties by 10 percent next year, the group acknowledges a...

Texas Governor Renews Hurricane Harvey Disaster Declaration

Aug 8 2018 // Texas Governor Greg Abbott has extended the disaster declaration for 60 counties impacted by Hurricane Harvey last year. Abbott first issued a disaster declaration on Aug. 23, 2017, for Aransas, Austin, Bee, Brazoria,...

IBHS Study Chronicles Hurricane Harvey Wind Damage, Provides Takeaways

Aug 8 2018 // Hurricane Harvey will be remembered as an epic flooding disaster – and rightly so. But there is more to the story of this brutal hurricane which struck in late August 2017, according to the Insurance Institute for...

Texas Commission Seeking Comments for Texas Windstorm Insurance Review

Aug 7 2018 // While the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is not subject to closure by the state’s Sunset Commission, the insurer is subject to periodic review by the commission as required by the Texas Sunset Act. As it...

PCI: Majority of Texans Not Prepared for Hurricane Season

Aug 6 2018 // A large majority of Texas residents are not taking necessary steps to protect their property this hurricane season despite the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, according to a new poll conducted online by SurveyMonkey on...

Hub International Acquires The Ward Agency in Texas

Aug 6 2018 // Hub International Limited (Hub) has acquired the assets of Texas-based The Ward Agency (Ward Agency). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Headquartered in Longview, Texas with an office in Tyler, Texas, Ward...

Arkema NA, CEO Indicted in Texas for ‘Reckless’ Chemical Release

Aug 6 2018 // The North American subsidiary of a French chemical manufacturer and two senior staff members were indicted in connection with last year’s explosion at the Crosby, Texas, plant in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Arkema...

Flood Insurance Uptake Rises in Texas but Increase May Not Last

Aug 6 2018 // Federal data indicates the number of homes in Texas with flood insurance has risen in the year since Hurricane Harvey inundated the Houston area. The floods last August killed nearly 70 people and damaged or destroyed more...

Texas Seeks Input on Changes to Catastrophe Data Call Standards

Aug 6 2018 // Texas insurance regulators have responded to insurer requests for revisions to its standards for catastrophe data calls and is seeking input on the proposed changes. The Texas Department of Insurance said following...

Texas Petrochemical Contractor to Pay $135K in Disability Discrimination Suit Settlement

Aug 6 2018 // A Texas petrochemical services company that fired three brothers because of a blood disorder that they shared will pay $135,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by federal officials. Signature Industrial Services LLC (SIS) in...

People

Aug 6 2018 // Risk management services firm, Hanover Stone Partners, has tapped Ellen Shew Holland to lead its newly established national higher education practice. She is based in Dallas. Shew Holland will lead a practice that will...