Latest Texas Headlines

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

FBI Tracked Nearly 300K Cyberattacks in U.S. in 2016

Jul 24 2017 // The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) last year tracked nearly 300,000 cyberattacks in the United States and those attacks resulted in more than $1.6 billion in total losses. But apparently those numbers...

Milliman: Florida, Louisiana and Texas Would Benefit from Private Flood Insurance

Jul 24 2017 // The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) expires on Sept. 30 and Congress is currently considering legislation to reauthorize and reform the government-backed program through which the majority of U.S. property owners...

People – South Central

Jul 24 2017 // Austin-based Watkins Insurance Group, one of the largest full-service, locally owned independent insurance agencies in central Texas, has added Chris Scott as vice president of Finance. Scott brings to Watkins Insurance...

Texas Bill Would Change Workers’ Comp Medical Causation Report Law

Jul 20 2017 // A medical causation narrative report is one created by a doctor that explains a causal connection, if any, between a compensable workplace injury and the diagnoses or conditions specified in the insurance carrier’s...

Verisk: Texas 2nd in Number of Households at Risk for Wildfire

Jul 20 2017 // The 2017 Verisk Wildfire Risk Analysis shows that Texas is ranked second behind California for the number of households at high or extreme risk from wildfire. The analysis determined the number and percentage of households...

TWFG Honors Top Producers

Jul 20 2017 // Successful insurance agents with The Woodlands, Texas-based TWFG received official recognition and awards during TWFG’s recent convention. President and CEO Gordy Bunch inducted 20 new members into the insurance...

Texas Lawmaker Seeks to Limit Austin’s Construction Site Worker Protections

Jul 19 2017 // Note: This article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. Cesar Ovalde has been working in the construction industry for the better part of 15 years. Most of the time, he’s working on large commercial projects,...

Officials Warn of Spike in Food-Borne Illness in Texas

Jul 19 2017 // State health officials are warning of an increase in Texas in the number of people who’ve contracted a food-borne illness often linked to imported produce. The Department of State Health Services says 68 cases of...

10-Vehicle Wreck in West Texas Blamed on Dust Storm

Jul 19 2017 // Authorities are blaming a zero-visibility dust storm for a 10-vehicle pileup in West Texas that left eight people hurt, including one in critical condition. The Texas Department of Public Safety says the accident happened...

Credit Ratings of Texas’ State Farm Lloyds Upgraded

Jul 18 2017 // A.M. Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to A- (Excellent) from B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “a-” from “bbb+” of State Farm Lloyds in...

Contractor Cuts Texas Oil Pipeline; 1,200 Barrels of Crude Spilled

Jul 17 2017 // Authorities say about 50,000 gallons of crude oil spilled after a contractor accidentally cut an underground pipeline in Central Texas. A spokesman for Magellan Midstream Partners, Bruce Heine, says the contractor was...

ICT Honors Haigood with Raymond Mauk Award

Jul 13 2017 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) awarded Lyndell Haigood, former regional vice-president for governmental relations at State Auto, with the 2017 Raymond Mauk Leadership Award. Haigood is the 20th recipient of the...

Texas E&S Broker McClelland & Hine Promotes Barnes and Hine

Jul 13 2017 // San Antonio-based managing general agent and excess and surplus (E&S) lines broker, McClelland and Hine Inc. (MHI), has promoted Lisa Barnes to the position of chief operating officer, and named Amicia Hine president...

Texas’ RHP General Agency Acquiring Homeowner Business from Sycamore Insurance

Jul 12 2017 // Conifer Holdings, headquartered in Michigan, has agreed to sell the book of HomeValue business produced through Sycamore Insurance Agency to Texas-based RHP General Agency Inc. As part of this renewal rights transaction,...

U.S. Risk Insurance Group Acquires IMS London American

Jul 11 2017 // Property/casualty wholesaler, U.S. Risk Insurance Group LLC, has acquired Texas-based IMS London American Brokerage and Underwriting Services. IMS President Larry Mennes has been named president of U.S. Risk’s...

Former Texas Businessman Gets 7 Years for Scamming London Insurer

Jul 11 2017 // A former Texas businessman was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to repay nearly $4 million in an insurance scam targeting a British company. Federal prosecutors say 66-year-old Wesley Michael Woodyard was...

Texas Peach Crops Affected by Mild Winter

Jul 10 2017 // Experts say the mild Texas winter hampered this year’s peach crop in parts of the state. The North Texas harvest appears to be bountiful, but growers in some other areas of the state faced challenges, the Fort Worth...

U.S. Risk Insurance Group, LLC Announces the Acquisition of IMS London American

Jul 10 2017 // Dallas, TX, July 10, 2017— U.S. Risk Insurance Group, LLC, the nation’s fifth largest Property & Casualty wholesaler, announced today that it has acquired IMS London American Brokerage and Underwriting Services...

People

Jul 10 2017 // Kansas City-based insurance broker Lockton has named Jeff Henningsen as president of its Houston property/casualty insurance operation. Henningsen will take on an expanded leadership role in business development for the...

Texas Workers’ Comp Draft Rule Requires Preauthorization of Compounded Drugs

Jul 6 2017 // The Texas Department of Insurance – Division of Workers’ Compensation is accepting comments through July 7 on an informal draft rule that requires compounded drugs to be preauthorized. The draft rule was...