Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Texas Law Allows for Variable Speed Limits to Enhance Road Safety in Inclement Weather
Aug 22 2023 // On an icy February morning in 2021, slippery roads and limited visibility prompted a chain reaction of crashing cars on Interstate 35W in Fort Worth, eventually leading to a pileup of 133 vehicles that left six people...
Sweltering Heatwave Grips Central US, Record High Temperatures Recorded
Aug 21 2023 // HOUSTON (AP) – Sweltering temperatures lingered Sunday in a large swath of the central U.S., causing misery from the Gulf of Mexico almost to the Great Lakes. Record high temperatures were recorded in Texas and other...
No Duty to Defend Doesn’t Mean No Duty to Indemnify, 5th Circuit Finds
Aug 21 2023 // A federal appeals court has clarified, at least under the realm of Texas law, when an insurer has a duty to indemnify – even if it has no duty to defend a tort action against the insured thanks to an unambiguous...
Texas Seeks Millions From Planned Parenthood in Suit Against Abortion Provider
Aug 18 2023 // AUSTIN, Texas (AP) __ Texas wants Planned Parenthood to give back millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements – and pay far more in fines on top of that – in a lawsuit that appears to be the first of its kind...
TDI Appoints Knight as State Fire Marshal
Aug 16 2023 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) announced it has appointed Debra Knight as the new State Fire Marshal for Texas. Knight brings more than 30 years of experience in administrative and criminal law, as well as...
Texas Files Lawsuit Against Shell, Alleging $1M in Environmental Damage from Petrochemical Plant Fire
Aug 16 2023 // AUSTIN, Texas (AP) __ Texas is suing Shell and is seeking more than $1 million, alleging a fire at the oil giant`s Houston-area petrochemical plant damaged the environment. The May 5 fire at the plant in the suburb of Deer...
Texas Governor Issues Widespread Disaster Declaration Due to Wildfires
Aug 15 2023 // Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a wildfire disaster declaration for about 75% of Texas counties, allowing them to use all available state resources to respond to any new fires as the state continues to bake under triple-digit...
Grass Fire Near Austin, Texas Destroys Building, Displacing Hundreds of Residents
Aug 11 2023 // CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP) – A grass fire near Austin, Texas, spread into trees near an apartment complex and condominiums, destroying one of the buildings and forcing hundreds of residents from their homes. Two people...
Fire at a Texas Apartment Complex Causes Hundreds of Evacuations
Aug 10 2023 // CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP) __ A fire with flames shooting up to 60 feet (18 meters) in the air damaged an apartment complex and condominiums near Austin, Texas, and forced hundreds of residents from their homes but caused no...
Inszone Expands in Texas With Acquisition of Speck Insurance
Aug 9 2023 // Inszone Insurance Services, a national provider of benefits, personal, and commercial lines insurance, announced the acquisition of Speck Insurance and Financial Services. Terms were not disclosed. The acquisition includes...
Cargo Theft Increased 57% in Q2; High-Value Shipments Targeted
Aug 9 2023 // There were 582 supply chain events reported across the United States and Canada in the second quarter of 2023, a 57% increase when compared to the second quarter of 2022, according to the latest CargoNet report. Ongoing...
TWIA Board Votes Down Recommended Rate Increases
Aug 9 2023 // Though an analysis found rates at Texas’ insurer of last resort to be about 20% inadequate, its board on Tuesday did not come to an agreement to file for any rate increases. The board of the Texas Windstorm Insurance...
Worker Injured as Explosion at Texas Paint Plant Sends Fireballs into Sky
Aug 8 2023 // GARLAND, Texas (AP) – A worker was injured early Monday when an explosion set a paint manufacturing plant in the Dallas suburbs ablaze and shot a series of fireballs into the night sky. A company spokesperson said the...
Texas Legislature Takes Aim at the Use of ESG-Related Factors by Insurance Companies
Aug 8 2023 // Insurance companies are increasingly incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their underwriting processes when they examine risk. However, despite the increasing adoption of ESG-related...
Texas Construction Company Fined $266K For Failure to Correct Fall Protection Systems
Aug 7 2023 // Despite an extensive history of serious and repeat violations dating back more than a decade, a Houston, Texas steel erection company again failed to correct fall protection systems hazards, a federal workplace safety...
Texas Court Rejects ‘Fishing Expedition’ Discovery Request to Home Depot
Aug 7 2023 // A Texas appellate court threw out a trial court order that approved a plaintiff’s overly broad discovery request in an employee’s personal injury lawsuit against Home Depot. A panel of the 9th Court of Appeals...
Drag Performers and LGBTQ+ Advocates Sue to Block Texas Law Expanding Ban on Sexual Performances
Aug 4 2023 // AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A group of drag performers and LGBTQ+ rights advocates have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block a new Texas law that expands what is considered an illegal public performance of sexual conduct,...
Boundless Rider Launches Motorcycle, ATV and Off-Road Insurance in Texas
Aug 4 2023 // Boundless Rider, a venture-backed digital MGA, announced that it is available for purchase in Texas, with plans to expand to additional states later this year. Owners of on-road and off-road motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs,...
Texas Policy Protects Big Polluters From Citizen Complaints
Aug 3 2023 // PORT LAVACA — On a rugged stretch of the Gulf Coast in Texas, environmental groups called foul in 2020 when an oil company sought pollution permits to expand its export terminal beside Lavaca Bay. Led by a coalition of...
NR West Acquires Texas’ Foster Benefit Resources
Aug 2 2023 // NR West, the parent company of The Insurance Exchange, a premier Dallas-based General Agency, announced that it has completed its acquisition of Foster Benefit Resources, a full-service General Agency specializing in fully...
