Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Meyer Named Interim Executive Director at Texas Surplus Lines Stamping Office
Oct 24 2019 // Don Meyer has been appointed interim executive director at the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX). The appointment, approved by the SLTX board of directors, was effective Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. Meyer has more...
9 Tornadoes Confirmed in North Texas Outbreak; Insured Losses Pegged at $2B
Oct 24 2019 // The National Weather Service says nine tornadoes struck the Dallas area during Sunday’s stretch of severe storms in Texas. Forecasters confirmed the twisters Tuesday after surveying damage throughout North Texas. The...
Texas Man Convicted of $1.7M Arson, Insurance Fraud Scheme
Oct 23 2019 // A southeast Texas man has been found guilty charges related to an arson and insurance fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported. According to U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown, a...
Texas Dentist Office Settles Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Case for $20K
Oct 23 2019 // Federal employment officials say the Texas-based dental business will pay $20,000 and provide other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s...
Texas Voters to Decide on Proposition to Create Fund for Flood Prevention, Recovery
Oct 23 2019 // State lawmakers want to create a dedicated $800 million fund for flood prevention and recovery that would be safe from future legislative budget fights. They’re asking Texas voters to weigh in via a constitutional...
Flatt Joins Higginbotham as EVP; Will Open Midland Office
Oct 22 2019 // Tim Flatt has joined Fort Worth, Texas-based independent insurance broker, Higginbotham, as an employee benefits executive vice president. Flatt will open Higginbotham’s first Midland office, bringing the...
3 Twisters Confirmed in North Texas; Governor Issues Disaster Declaration
Oct 21 2019 // The National Weather Service has confirmed that three tornadoes ripped through North Texas on Sunday night, two in Dallas County and one in Van Zandt County, arising out of a storm system that caused widespread damage...
Texas Firms Say Too Many Low-Skill Workers Are Failing Drug Tests
Oct 21 2019 // Employers in Texas say too many low-skill workers are failing to pass drug tests needed to get hired. Forty-eight percent of Texas firms who had difficulty finding low-skill workers cited their inability to pass a drug...
IBHS Survey Highlights Building Code Gaps in Texas Coastal Counties
Oct 21 2019 // A detailed review of coastal Texas building codes revealed gaps that could leave homeowners at risk if mitigation efforts are not sought as nearly one-third of Texans live in the coastal counties. The Insurance Institute...
Texas Surplus Lines Premium Up Again
Oct 21 2019 // Texas surplus lines premium reported through the first three quarters of 2019 reached $5.35 billion, a 16.15% increase over the same period in 2018, according to the Surplus Line Stamping Office of Texas...
People & Places
Oct 21 2019 // National Reid French has stepped down as CEO of the insurance agency technology firm Applied Systems, and Cloud Technology Executive Taylor Rhodes has joined Applied as the new CEO. French, who served as CEO for eight...
Officials: Nearly Half of all Texas Traffic Deaths Occur in Energy-Producing Areas
Oct 18 2019 // Texas continues to lead the nation in oil and gas production, creating jobs and prosperity statewide, but communities in the state’s main energy production areas have also seen a rise in deaths on the road accounting...
Feds Say Retailer Broke Law by Selling Rifle Used in Texas Church Attack
Oct 18 2019 // Federal prosecutors say a sporting goods retailer violated the law by selling an AR-15-style rifle and large capacity magazine to a man who used them to kill more than two dozen worshippers at a Texas church. The...
Texas Insurance Department Issues Warning About Imelda-Soaked Vehicles
Oct 17 2019 // The Texas Department of Insurance has issued a warning to consumers to be on the lookout for flood-damaged vehicles hitting the resale market, one month after Tropical Storm Imelda drenched Southeast Texas with historic...
Formosa Plastics Agrees to Pay $50M to Settle Texas Water Pollution Suit
Oct 16 2019 // Petrochemical manufacturer Formosa Plastics has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a lawsuit in which a judge ruled the company illegally dumped billions of plastic pellets and other pollutants into Lavaca Bay and other...
Credit Rating of Texas’ Pinnacle National Insurance Co. Upgraded
Oct 16 2019 // AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) of Pinnacle National Insurance Co. (Pinnacle National, formerly...
Texas Company Faces $301K in Fines After Employee Fatality
Oct 15 2019 // A Texas company has been cited for workplace safety hazards and fined more than $301,000 after an employee fatality at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in April 2019. The U.S. Department of Labor’s...
Texas RV Dealer Insurance Practice Merges with Higginbotham
Oct 11 2019 // Fort Worth, Texas-based Higginbotham reports a merger with Diversified Insurance Management an independent property/casualty insurance agency in Plano, Texas. Diversified has a specialty practice serving recreational...
1st Death Linked to E-Cigarette Use Recorded in Texas
Oct 11 2019 // Health officials in Texas say the state has recorded its first death associated with vaping-related lung illnesses. The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Wednesday that an older woman in north Texas died...
George P. Bush Tapped to Oversee $4B Texas Disaster Mitigation Plan
Oct 10 2019 // Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush and the Texas General Land Office have been appointed to lead a comprehensive resiliency and disaster mitigation program, funded by more than $4 billion in U.S. Department of Housing...
