State Farm petitions Texas insurance regulators to deem the state’s wildfires an official catastrophe

Texas has been battling an outbreak of wildfires since the beginning of September. The fires have wrought carnage throughout the state, burning more than 1 million acres and more than 1,000 homes. The catastrophe has put enormous pressure on the state’s insurers who have been struggling to mitigate the damage caused by the fires. The disaster is so serious that State Farm Insurance has petitioned the Texas Department of Insurance to designate the wildfires as an official catastrophe. The petition was submitted to the Department on September 12, but regulators…

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Over 20 percent of drivers in Texas aren’t insured

In Texas, more than 1 in every 5 drivers does not have adequate auto insurance to comply with the laws within that state. According to a recent report by the Texas Department of Insurance, 21.6 percent of all of the drivers in the state were operating their vehicles while uninsured. Dallas County had the largest number of uninsured drivers among the most populated counties in the state, with 24.1 percent of its drivers lacking insurance. Bexar county followed closely behind with 22.9 percent of drivers being uninsured. In the entire…

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Texas governor appoints new head of the state’s Department of Insurance

The Texas Department of Insurance is in for a shakeup as Governor Rick Perry announced Wednesday that a new Insurance Commissioner is on the way. Eleanor Kitzman, once the executive director of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board, has been appointed to the position and will take the reins of the office beginning next month. Her term will span until February 1, 2013, giving Kitzman ample time to affect change in the state’s insurance industry. Kitzman will be replacing former Commissioner Mike Geeslin who held the office for several…

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Texas residents received fraudulent windstorm inspections, may not be eligible for coverage

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, the state-run insurance program that is one of the very few places offering coverage against wind damage to Texas residents, will continue to offer insurance coverage thanks to a special session of the state’s Legislature. Lawmakers toiled over the issue for some time, often unable to meet a consensus on what should be done about the indebted program. The decision was made some weeks ago that the program should continue, but with changes. Along with these changes come new home inspections, which will determine whether…

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“Anti-Ambulance Chasing” Bill in Texas Called Unconstitutional by Federal Court of Appeals

A ruling against a Texas “anti-ambulance chasing” bill has been reversed by a federal appeals court, saying that the decision of the lower court was unconstitutional.  U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel’s ruling was determined by the Austin-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to have been made in error, regarding a 2009 law that was enacted in Texas, and that was, according to the federal court of appeals, unconstitutional.  The bill had to do with the solicitation of victims of car accidents within the first thirty days after…

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