Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Key House Chairman Wants Flood Insurance Reforms, Not Just Renewal
Aug 29 2017 // A key Republican said Hurricane Harvey will spur Congress to reach a deal to fund the nation’s flood insurance program before it expires next month, even though divisions persist over how much the federal government...
Trump to Send Congress ‘Very Expensive’ Disaster Aid Request for Harvey Victims
Aug 29 2017 // U.S. lawmakers are expected to pass a large aid package for victims of Hurricane Harvey, but specifics of the plan and its price tag are unclear as Congress awaits a funding request from the Trump administration. Rain...
Harvey Inflicts Even More Death and Destruction as Flood Waters Keep Rising
Aug 29 2017 // Flood waters from Tropical Storm Harvey, which has already killed at least seven people in Texas and was expected to drive tens of thousands from their homes, are likely to rise, officials warned on Monday, as heavy rain...
IIAV ‘Redoubling’ Hurricane Preparedness Efforts Since Following Harvey’s Texas Impact
Aug 28 2017 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia (IIAV) is motivated to “redouble its efforts” around hurricane preparedness, particularly as it relates to flood damage, since following Hurricane Harvey’s...
Harvey’s Catastrophic Costs Mount; Many Lack Adequate Insurance
Aug 28 2017 // Hurricane Harvey’s second act across southern Texas is turning into an economic catastrophe — with damages likely to stretch into tens of billions of dollars and an unusually large share of victims lacking...
Harvey’s Flooding of Houston ‘Beyond Anything Experienced Before’
Aug 28 2017 // Catastrophic flooding triggered by Tropical Storm Harvey inundated Houston on Sunday, forcing residents of the fourth most populous U.S. city to flee their homes in boats or hunker down in anticipation of several more days...
Hurricane Harvey Could Spur Congress to Act on Flood Insurance
Aug 28 2017 // The destruction that heavy rain and floods from Hurricane Harvey could inflict on Texas would add to the pile of debt owed by a federal flood insurance program that is due to expire in September, advocacy groups said. The...
Hurricane Harvey’s Flood Insurance Losses Could Match Katrina’s
Aug 28 2017 // Flood damage in Texas from Hurricane Harvey may equal that from 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, said an insurance research group on Sunday. As heavy rain pounded Houston and...
Hurricane Harvey Shutters Key Oil, Gas Operations in Texas
Aug 27 2017 // Key oil and gas facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast have temporarily shut down as Hurricane Harvey pounds the region with torrential rain and high winds, virtually assuring gasoline prices will rise in the storm’s...
Harvey Smashes Homes, Businesses; Heavy Rain Continues
Aug 27 2017 // Hurricane Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of...
Insurance Adjusters Mobilized to Deal with Harvey Cat Losses
Aug 27 2017 // Teams of insurance adjusters were mobilized Friday in Texas cities closest to Hurricane Harvey’s expected path of destruction. Hurricane Harvey made landfall late Friday evening as a category 4 hurricane. According...
How Hurricane Harvey Is Affecting Catastrophe Bonds
Aug 27 2017 // Bonds tied to weather risks tumbled the most in seven months as Hurricane Harvey advanced on Texas’s Gulf Coast. The Swiss Re Cat Bond Price Return Index dropped 0.44 percent this week, the steepest decline since...
Saturday Update: Hurricane Harvey Expected to Weaken to Tropical Storm
Aug 26 2017 // Early this morning, Hurricane Harvey weakened to a category 1 hurricane as it moved farther inland over southeastern Texas. It continues to bring “life-threatening storm surge, rainfall, and wind hazards to portions...
Harvey Hits Texas With Massive Winds, Torrential Rain
Aug 26 2017 // Harvey became the strongest hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, making landfall in the heart of the U.S. energy sector and bringing the danger of a life-threatening storm surge. Harvey came ashore as a Category 4...
A.M. Best Weighs Hurricane Harvey’s Financial Hit; Ranks Top 30 Texas Insurers
Aug 25 2017 // With Hurricane Harvey threatening the Texas coastline, A.M. Best said it has begun to assess the potential financial impact this event may have on the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry. The most recent track of Harvey...
As Harvey Nears, Central Texas Coast Shuts Down
Aug 25 2017 // The National Hurricane Center has called off the hurricane watch from Port Mansfield, Texas, south to the mouth of the Rio Grande, but the Hurricane Harvey scenario for Corpus Christi and the surrounding areas on the...
Harvey Now a Hurricane, Sustained Winds Near 85 MPH
Aug 24 2017 // The National Hurricane Center says Harvey is now a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico with sustained winds of 85 mph and higher gusts. At 1 pm CDT, the hurricane was located around 335 miles southeast of Corpus Christi,...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Says It’s Ready for Harvey
Aug 24 2017 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association said it has initiated its catastrophe plan and that it is ready for Tropical Storm Harvey. Tropical Storm Harvey has crossed the boundaries of 80 degrees west longitude and 20...
Harvey Set to Bring ‘Catastrophic’ Flooding Across Texas
Aug 23 2017 // Harvey, which could strengthen into the first hurricane to strike Texas since 2008, forced workers off Gulf of Mexico platforms, sent cotton rallying and has airlines preparing for flight disruptions. Tropical Storm...
A.M. Best Assigns ‘A’ Rating to New Texas Insurer, Starr Specialty
Aug 23 2017 // Ratings agency, A.M. Best, has assigned a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a” to Starr Specialty Insurance Co. (Starr Specialty),...
