Sunday, March 23, 2008Between 2001 and 2005, homeowners insurance rates in Alabama jumped by 69.1 percent -- the second-largest rise nationally -- pushing the state's average premium for the most common kind of homeowners insurance well above the national norm, according to figures from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Only Minnesota, with a 70.3 percent increase, was worse.
The high prices come despite the fact that Alabamians have lower incomes and are typically insuring less expensive homes than in most other states.
Since 2005, the pain for homeowners in Mobile and Baldwin counties has continued to worsen, although there have been signs of improvement in the state's other 65 counties, said Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell. The commissioners' association has yet to release data for 2006 and 2007.
It's not clear when rates might moderate. Bell said that "if we don't have a catastrophe this year," he expects costs to rise "at a slower pace" beginning next year.
Bell, a former Mobile insurance executive who has been the state's insurance commissioner since 2003, said he understands that consumers are unhappy about rising prices. But he noted that private companies are still shouldering all risks of hurricane damage in Alabama, unlike in other places where state government has taken on risk or insurance is unavailable.
Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.
MONTGOMERY -- A state Senate committee Wednesday approved three bills intended to help with the affordability and availability of property insurance along the Alabama coast.
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved the bills unanimously.
The most comprehensive one is sponsored by state Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile. It would overhaul the beach pool, or the Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association, which is the insurer of last resort for coastal residents.
A bill sponsored by Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, would put the beach pool into state law. According to Bedford, Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell said during a hearing earlier this year that Alabama is the only state where the beach pool is not included in state law.
Brooks said Bedford's bill is good, but "we have got to do more."
The third bill, also sponsored by Brooks, would allow captive insurance companies to sell automotive coverage along with homeowners policies.
Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.
Click here to read the bill by Ben Brooks on the WKRG-TV website.
Monday, February 18, 2008MONTGOMERY -- The sponsor of two bills intended to help thousands of people on the Gulf Coast access affordable insurance said he is concerned about a "watered-down" proposal introduced by one of his colleagues in the Legislature.
State Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, said he has worked on the coastal insurance issue for more than a year and was never contacted about a bill introduced by Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville. "It is not intended to distract from his bill in any way," Bedford said.
"This is a political bill driven by the special interests to protect the status quo," Brooks said of Bedford's bill.
Click here to read the full story from the Mobile Press-Register.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008The Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association, better known as the Alabama Beach Pool, has added two resident members to its newly expanded board of directors.
Gulf Shores City Councilman Robert Craft and Mobilian Jay Ison, vice president-secretary of the insurance brokerage firm Thames Batre Mattei Beville & Ison, have been appointed to one-year terms, according to a Beach Pool news release.
Besides his elected post, Craft owns Craft Farms, a sod business and golf course, and is chairman of Gulf United Metropolitan Business Organization, a business advocacy group usually called GUMBO. Ison is married to state Rep. Jamie Ison, R-Mobile.
Click here to read the full story from the Mobile Press-Register.
But Walter Bell warns coastal residents not to expect pre-Ivan premiums POINT CLEAR -- The state's top insurance regulator told a gathering of residents, elected officials and business leaders Wednesday that wind insurance premiums for commercial properties, including Gulf-front towers, are falling and that the cost of residential policies would likely follow.
But Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell warned that no one should expect the cost of property insurance to dip below levels seen prior to 2004's Hurricane Ivan.
Bell was the keynote speaker at the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce's morning-long Coastal Insurance Symposium, which about 300 attended at Marriott's Grand Hotel outside Fairhope.
Click here to read the full story from the Mobile Press-Register.
Got a beef with your insurance company? Sticker shock from your latest homeowners premium bill? Perhaps a sob story about having lost hurricane coverage?
If so, the faith-based group ACT-II wants to hear from you.
ACT-II, which stands for All Churches Together, has scheduled a public forum tonight at Grace Lutheran Church in Gulf Shores as part of its research into the escalating cost and diminishing availability of homeowners insurance in Baldwin County.
Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.
Click here for local Orange Beach Insurance Agents.
MONTGOMERY -- House Speaker Seth Hammett and Gov. Bob Riley signaled this week that there is opposition to a bill intended to help property owners along the coast who are struggling with the price and availability of insurance.
Hammett, D-Andalusia, said he agrees with the governor's decision to not call a special session of the Legislature because of "significant bipartisan opposition" to coastal insurance legislation.
"I absolutely have not seen that," said state Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, sponsor of the bill. "My experience with legislators has been just the opposite, Democrat and Republican. I am puzzled where that perception would come from."
By Hugh Son and Erik Holm Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House voted today to expand a federal flood insurance program to also include coverage for wind damage, a proposal that may reduce the role of private insurers in coastal areas.
The bill, approved 263 to 146, hasn't been voted on by the Senate. President George W. Bush threatened yesterday to veto the proposal, which his Office of Management and Budget called ``fiscally irresponsible.''
Click here to read the full story from Bloomberg.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Proposed legislation unveiled Wednesday would force insurance companies to write more hurricane policies closer to the Gulf of Mexico in order to avoid penalties.
The bill would also give tax breaks to residents who make their homes more storm-resistant.
MONTGOMERY -- Gov. Bob Riley will join state Sen. Ben Brooks and other legislators in Irvington today to unveil a bill intended to overhaul property insurance along the Alabama coast.
Key items in the bill will include restructuring and expanding beach pool coverage, offering tax breaks to homeowners who upgrade their properties to reduce the possibility of storm damage and allowing condominiums to use captive insurance, which provides a form of self-insurance.
Click here to read the complete story from the Mobile Press-Register.
