Texas / South Central News

Buildings Damaged in Texas Storm System That Spawned 2 Confirmed Twisters

Forecasters say at least two tornadoes hit parts of north and east Texas in a storm system that damaged dozens of homes and left one person hurt. The National Weather Service has confirmed twisters struck Wednesday in the Heritage Trace …

Texas, Louisiana Among States Most at Risk for Storm Surge, CoreLogic Says

Some 7.3 million U.S. homes with an estimated reconstruction cost of $1.8 trillion are at risk from storm surge, Irvine, California-based data analytics provider CoreLogic said in its 2019 Storm Surge Report, issued days before the start of the 2019 …

Rains Ease but Risk of River Flooding in Central U.S. Still High

Rain-swollen rivers threatened more flooding on Thursday in Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois and Oklahoma, as Tulsa’s mayor warned that the decades-old levee system in his city would be at risk even as waters receded through the weekend. Since early last week, …

Louisiana to United HealthCare: Insurance Producer Commissions Must Be Paid

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says United HealthCare Services Inc. and/or UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co., its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, “United”) can’t proceed with its intention to stop paying producer commissions on renewals of certain group health insurance products. Donelon issued …

Severe Weather Impacting Oklahoma’s Canola, Wheat Crops

Oklahoma’s canola and wheat harvests could be smaller and come later than expected due to recent severe weather, agriculture officials said. Josh Lofton, the state’s agriculture secretary and Mike Schulte, executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, said that growers …

Flooding Persists as River Nears Crest in West Arkansas

The Arkansas River neared a historic crest on May 29 in Arkansas’ second-largest city, but officials said the levee system was “performing admirably” from the rush of water coming downstream from rain-soaked Oklahoma and Kansas. Still, the river was nearly …

Arkansas Imposes 60-Day Insurance Cancellation Moratorium for Flood Victims

The Arkansas Insurance Department announced a 60-day moratorium on the cancellation/non-renewal of policies for the non-payment of premiums by Arkansans affected by the flooding of the Arkansas River under Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s May 24 declaration of a State of Emergency …

Insurance Paid Out $162K After Fuel Theft from Louisiana School System

A state audit says a Louisiana school bus mechanic allegedly stole about $200,000 in fuel by using a school board fuel card to fill log truck tanks. The audit says a phishing scam cost the Union Parish School Board another …

Viewpoint: Ground Will Shake and Snakes Will Flee as the Mississippi Drains

I was on site in 2011 when the Army freed the Mississippi from a man-made barrier and unleashed it into a large swath of rural Louisiana — a harrowing trade off that flooded homes and farms to avoid catastrophe in …

Risk Strategies Acquires Texas’ MainStreet Consulting Group

Boston-based insurance brokerage and risk management firm Risk Strategies has acquired MainStreet Consulting Group, a brokerage headquartered in Conroe, Texas, just north of Houston. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Established in 2003, MainStreet Consulting Group is primarily focused …

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