Ala. DOI, AIIA to Release a List of Insurance Providers on June 13

A list of insurance companies, agencies and agents writing property insurance in coastal areas of Alabama, including Mobile and Baldwin counties will be available June 13, thanks to the efforts of the Alabama’s Hurricane Insurance Issues Task Force. The project is being completed in collaboration with the Alabama Department of Insurance, the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents, and other area home builders and realtors groups.

“If somebody wants to get new insurance or has to get new insurance, they don’t know who to call first,” Ragan Ingram, assistant insurance commissioner told the Mobile Register.

The list is still being finalized, and no information was immediately available about the number of insurance companies represented. “We’ve had a good response,” Ingram said.

Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell said the state agency is acting as a facilitator.

“The department, of course, makes no endorsement of any company or agent that participates in the program,” Bell said in a written statement. “We are, however, delighted to lend our assistance.”
Inclusion on the list is voluntary, Ingram said. Companies on the list might not write policies in all areas, he added. For example, some might not be willing to cover beachfront properties but will insure inland homes.

Bell and Gov. Bob Riley created the Hurricane Insurance Issues Task Force in response to problems that arose after Hurricane Ivan, a strong Category 3 storm that hit Alabama last September.

State Sen. Gary Tanner, D-Theodore, said he hoped this program would help property owners in his south Mobile County district find affordable coverage. Some people have found that the beach pool costs four times what they had been paying, he said.

“I’m fearful we’re going to have people going without insurance coverage,” he said.

Topics Alabama