Latest Alabama Headlines
All the headlines from our Alabama Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Now There’s an App for Workers’ Comp Claims
Aug 27 2012 // There’s an app for just about everything. And although a new workers’ compensation application from the University of Alabama at Birmingham may not be a must-add to every smart phone, its developers say it will...
Copper Theft on Rise in Alabama
Aug 6 2012 // Copper thefts are becoming a growing problem for Alabama farmers. Southeast Alabama farmer Trey Martin said someone stole the copper wiring from his irrigation system. The copper wire was worth $50, but the damages to the...
New, Tougher Insurance Fraud Law Now in Effect in Alabama
Aug 2 2012 // A number of recently enacted laws in Alabama concerning property-casualty insurance became effective on August 1. • One newly enacted law, Act 12-429 (Insurance Fraud), makes insurance fraud a felony crime. It will be...
Farmers Raises Rates in Alabama; Pulls Wind Coverage on Coastal Rental Policies
Aug 2 2012 // One of Alabama’s largest homeowners’ insurers is raising rates on property insurance by as much as 35 percent per policy while dropping some 2,900 rental properties along the state coastline as part of plan to...
Alabama Bans Texting While Driving Aug. 1
Jul 30 2012 // Starting Wednesday, texting, emailing and instant messaging while driving will become illegal in Alabama, with violators facing fines and possibly higher insurance rates. That is, if they don’t have a wreck...
Wholesaler Socius Opens Alabama Office; Names Stickley as VP
Jul 24 2012 // San Francisco-based Socius Insurance Services Inc., a management liability and property/casualty insurance wholesaler, has opened an office in Birmingham, Alabama, and named Hank Stickley as vice president. Stickley comes...
Fire Closes Alabama Insurance Department
Jul 20 2012 // The Alabama Department of Insurance will remain closed until at least Monday due to a power outage caused by a small fire in Montgomery’s RSA Tower on Thursday morning. The 23-story tower, owned and operated by the...
New Law on BP Oil Spill Promises States More in Restoration Monies
Jul 16 2012 // U.S. Gulf Coast states have a higher stake in the amount of money the U.S. government can wring out of BP Plc for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill due to a new law that would divert billions of dollars in potential BP...
Tropical Storm Creates New Beach on Alabama Coast
Jul 11 2012 // Within the span of a week, the Gulf built a beach in front of most of the rock wall used to close Katrina Cut. The wall was constructed in 2010 using money provided by BP during the oil spill. The goal was to close a...
BancorpSouth Insurance Acquires Alabama Agency, Securance Group
Jul 3 2012 // BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc., headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi, has agreed to acquire the assets of The Securance Group, Inc., an independent property/casualty and life/health insurance agency headquartered in...
Alabama Readies Auto Insurance Verification
Jul 2 2012 // Alabama’s Revenue Department is launching an online system that will allow county license plate officials to verify whether a vehicle has liability insurance. The Legislature passed a requirement last year that the...
Ala. Gov. Bentley Touts New Homeowners’ Insurance Laws
Jul 2 2012 // Alabama’s governor is promoting new laws designed to make homeowners’ insurance more affordable after hurricanes drove up prices. Gov. Robert Bentley, who owns a vacation home on the coast, made...
Tropical Storm Debby Heads for Florida Coast, Spares Louisiana
Jun 24 2012 // Tropical Storm Debby meandered slowly to the Florida coast on Sunday, bringing strong winds and waves that forced the closure of about a quarter of offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and spawning...
Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Alabama’s Whitehaven Insurance
Jun 20 2012 // Illinois-based global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Whitehaven Insurance Group, Inc. in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1994, Whitehaven Insurance...
Alabama Readies Online Auto Insurance Verification System
Jun 19 2012 // Alabama’s Revenue Department is launching an online system that will allow county license plate officials to verify whether a vehicle has liability insurance. State Revenue Commissioner Julie Magee said the Insurance...
Ala. Gov. Bentley Touts New Homeowner’s Insurance Laws
Jun 15 2012 // Alabama’s governor visited the Gulf coast this week to promote new laws designed to make homeowner’s insurance more affordable after hurricanes drove up prices. Gov. Robert Bentley told Foley residents that he...
Alabama Man Sues Florida Blood Bank Over HIV Infection
May 16 2012 // An Alabama man has filed a lawsuit against a Florida blood bank, charging that a transfusion during a coronary bypass surgery infected him with HIV. The lawsuit alleges that the contaminated blood given to Howard Midkiff...
Alabama Governor Signs Texting Ban; Expects to Sign Home Insurance Bills
May 9 2012 // Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has signed into law a measure (HB 2) that prohibits texting while driving. “Signing this bill sends a message that drivers need to focus on driving – not on sending a text,”...
One Week Brought Most of Alabama’s $3.2 Billion Losses
May 7 2012 // Almost $3 billion of the $3.2 billion Alabama insurers paid out to their auto, home and business policyholders in 2011 for catastrophe losses can be traced directly to the tornadoes, hail and thunderstorms that swept...
Southeast Agency, Carrier Plans Brighten Jobs Picture
May 7 2012 // Those interested in new or better positions in insurance might want to grab their suntan lotion and head to the Southeast. They might also want to brush up on their Spanish. The unemployment rate remains higher in key...
