Texas / South Central News

EPIC Adds 5 to Employee Benefits Team in Houston

EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property/ casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, has added Principal Ed Oravetz, Principal Keith McNeely, Principal David Potts, Client Executive Elisha Johnson and Client Manager Marilu Alejandre to its employee benefits consulting …

Retired Judge to Mediate Dispute Over Oklahoma Opioid Settlement Funds

A former Oklahoma State Supreme Court justice will attempt to resolve a dispute over how to disburse an $85 million settlement of a state lawsuit with Teva Pharmaceuticals. Cleveland Count District Judge Thad Balkman said Monday that retired Judge Steven …

Federal Flood Assistance OK’d for 4 More Oklahoma Counties

Federal disaster assistance has been approved for four more Oklahoma counties affected by severe storms, flooding and tornadoes last month. Gov. Kevin Stitt said the Federal Emergency Management Agency had added Cherokee, Le Flore, Noble and Nowata counties to a …

Texas Calls for 2018 Catastrophe Data on Commercial Property, Business Insurance

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has issued special data call to companies that wrote direct commercial property or businessowners insurance in Texas and to certain farm mutual insurance companies that wrote property insurance in Texas during calendar year 2018. …

Houston Skies May Darken Again as Tank Farm Disaster-Site Teardown Begins

The company behind the four-day chemical blaze that cast a black plume over Houston earlier this year is preparing to destroy one of the tanks at the facility, raising the risk that the site could see “flash” fires. Intercontinental Terminals …

Tower Hill Specialty Expands Into Arkansas

Tower Hill Specialty is now offering manufactured housing and dwelling fire insurance policies in Arkansas. Optional coverage features include equipment breakdown and service line endorsements. The equipment breakdown option provides coverage for items such as appliances and HVAC systems. Discounts …

Federal Officials Looking at Flood Issues in Review of Texas Derailment

Investigators will consider storm-related flooding to help determine what caused an April 24 freight train derailment in North Texas that sent 25 tanker cars off the tracks. The National Transportation Safety Board on Monday issued a preliminary report on the …

Higginbotham in Texas Buys Commercial Insurance Unit of Extraco Banks

Extraco Banks has sold its commercial insurance operation to Fort Worth, Texas-based independent insurance broker, Higginbotham. Extraco Insurance is a group of five property/casualty insurance professionals operating in Waco, Temple and Hamilton, Texas, for 19 years. The group will continue …

Company Cited, Fined $341K After Fatality at Texas Tire Retreading Facility

A Mississippi company faces more than $341,000 in penalties for failing to protect employees from serious safety hazards, a practice that led to a worker’s death at a plant in Texas, federal safety officials say. The U.S. Department of Labor’s …

Midwestern Floodwaters Harming Louisiana, Mississippi Seafood Businesses

This is a bad year for people who make their living from seafood in Louisiana and Mississippi. Floods from the Midwest are killing oysters, and driving crabs, shrimp and finfish out of bays and marshes, into saltier water where they …

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