Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Update: Central Texas Wildfire Now Over 4,000 Acres
Oct 15 2015 // A Central Texas wildfire grew to more than 4,000 acres on Oct. 15, and at least 400 homes have been evacuated according to the Bastrop County Emergency Management Agency. The Texas A&M Forest Service had said the blaze...
ProPublica, NPR: Inside Corporate America’s Campaign to Ditch Workers’ Comp
Oct 14 2015 // This article was published by ProPublica and NPR and is reprinted with permission. Standing before a giant map in his Dallas office, Bill Minick doesn’t seem like anyone’s idea of a bomb thrower. But backed by...
Texas Gun Rights Advocates Taking Aim at Zoos
Oct 13 2015 // Visitors to the Houston Zoo can now pack a little something extra besides a camera and picnic basket. The nearly century-old institution recently lifted its longtime firearms ban amid a broader push by gun rights advocates...
County Says Partial Settlement Reached in Texas Fertilizer Blast
Oct 13 2015 // A settlement was reached with families of some victims of a massive West, Texas, fertilizer explosion that killed 15 people and leveled part of the town two years ago, according to a post on the website of McLennan County,...
Surplus Lines Insurance Sees Moderate Growth Thus Far in 2015
Oct 13 2015 // Collectively, the 14 U.S. surplus lines stamping offices have reported moderate growth in surplus line premiums during the first half of 2015. Approximately 60 percent of all surplus lines insurance is processed by...
Take Command Health, Zane Benefits Partner to Serve Small Businesses in Texas
Oct 9 2015 // Take Command Health, a Texas-based startup dedicated to helping individuals choose and save on their health insurance, is partnering with Zane Benefits to provide Texas businesses with fewer than 50 employees with health...
Texas Auto Parts Maker, Staffing Firm Cited for Safety Violations
Oct 8 2015 // Federal safety officials have cited a San Marcos, Texas, auto parts maker and its staffing employer for heat, noise and other workplace hazards. Corvac Composites LLC and Priority Personnel Inc. were fined a total of...
Texas Sees Uptick in Fatal Occupational Injuries
Oct 7 2015 // Preliminary data show that there was a 3 percent increase in fatal occupational injuries in Texas in 2014 over the previous year, state workers’ compensation insurance regulators report. The Texas Department of...
Federal Officials Sue Texas Firm for Disability Discrimination
Oct 7 2015 // Federal officials are suing Austin’s FEC, LLC and Austin Entertainment Center LP d/b/a Austin’s Park N Pizza, a Pflugerville, Texas-based amusement park, for violating federal law by firing an employee because...
Texas Weapons Manufacturer Fined $197K for Workplace Hazards
Oct 7 2015 // Federal safety officials have fined a Texas-based weapons manufacturer $197,000 for putting workers at risk. Maverick Arms Inc. in Eagle Pass, Texas, was cited on Sept. 30, 2015, by the U.S. Department of Labor’s...
MHBT’s Henry Elected Chairman of The Council
Oct 7 2015 // The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers reported that Bill Henry of Texas has been elected as the group’s 2016 chairman. Henry is chief executive officer and chairman of Dallas-based MHBT, a Marsh & McLennan...
Texas Tops for Heavy Equipment Thefts in 2014: Report
Oct 6 2015 // A report released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) shows that thefts of heavy equipment increased nationally in 2014 by 1.2 percent over the previous year and that Texas had the highest number of such...
Texas Department of Insurance Actuary Wins National Award
Oct 5 2015 // Mike Boerner, director of the actuarial office for the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), is the 2015 recipient of the Robert J. Myers Public Service Award from the American Academy of Actuaries. The award will be...
Texas Sets Work Comp Discount, Interest Rate at 3.96%
Oct 5 2015 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation has set the workers’ comp interest/discount rate for the fourth quarter of 2015 at 3.96 percent. This rate is computed by using the treasury...
People – South Central
Oct 5 2015 // Jeff Presley has joined Houston-based Securance Corporation Agency as vice president of Marketing and Operations for property/casualty. Presley brings more than 35 years of industry experience to his new role where he will...
Texas a Top State for Watercraft Thefts: NICB
Oct 5 2015 // While the number of watercraft thefts continued on a downward trend in 2014, Texas remains one of the five top states in which such thefts are likely to occur. Texas ranks third for watercraft thefts, behind Florida and...
Texas Hospital Should Forfeit $32M in Ike Funds, Report States
Oct 2 2015 // A federal review says a Houston, Texas hospital should forfeit $32 million in government grants for Hurricane Ike recovery due to misuse of the money. Riverside General Hospital was named in the Office of Inspector General...
Texas DA Suspends Funding Agreement With Texas Mutual
Oct 2 2015 // The Travis County District Attorney’s office in Texas says it is suspending an agreement with a private insurer that had allowed the company to pay prosecutors to pursue its fraud cases. District Attorney Rosemary...
Fed Probe Finds Safety Problems at Texas Dupont Plant Where 4 Died
Oct 1 2015 // A federal investigation into a poisonous gas leak that killed four workers at a Houston, Texas-area chemical plant in November found weaknesses and failures in the facility’s safety planning and procedures, officials...
Liberty Mutual Breaks Ground on 1M Square Foot Texas Campus
Oct 1 2015 // Liberty Mutual Insurance has kicked off construction of its new campus in Plano, Texas. The 1-million-square-foot office is expected to be complete in 2017. Liberty Mutual’s $325 million-plus expansion project is...
