FAIRHOPE, Ala. - Fairhope has parted ways with the insurance company that former Mayor James Nix helped start and that provided liability coverage to local officials and employees for more than two decades.

In 1990, Nix served as the first president of the Alabama Municipal Insurance Corp., the liability insurer for the city which sued Fairhope last summer, claiming it should not have to reimburse the city for hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to private attorneys in the “Dyas Triangle” lawsuit.

The written contract between the city and the new insurer was signed by current Mayor Tim Kant, but it was not approved by the City Council and came as news to some council members last week.

The city switched to Travelers insurance company in January, when the policy with AMIC was up for renewal, City Treasurer Nancy Wilson said after last week’s City Council meeting.

“I was unaware that they had done that,” Councilman Rick Kingrea said of the city’s hiring a new company.

At the public participation session prior to the March 14 council meeting, Kingrea first stated that AMIC was still the city’s insurer.

After the meeting, Kingrea learned from Wilson of the change in companies and informed The Fairhope Courier that night of the change in carriers.

Wilson explained that Mayor Tim Kant, given the lawsuit filed by AMIC against the city, told the city’s insurance agent, Robbie Robertson of John A. Robertson Insurance, to shop around late last year for some other companies for liability insurance coverage.

Robertson recommended Travelers, which provided comparable coverage with a less expensive annual premium, she said.