MOBILE, Ala. - Exactly six years to the day that Hurricane Katrina brought heavy coastal flooding and wind damage to the state, ushering in an era of skyrocketing premiums and deductibles, Gov. Robert Bentley’s Affordable Homeowners Insurance Commission held its first meeting to gather public comment about the problem. And the public had no hesitation obliging.

More than 500 people packed into a room of the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center, and those who spoke generally characterized the insurance situation in Alabama as out of control and under regulated.

Carolyn Vaisin of Fairhope said, “I just can’t understand where the insurance companies have any liability except if our homes are taken completely off the slab." Vaisin, who is on a retirement income, said her premiums increased from $2,000 to $7,500 before she found a company that lowered it to just under $5,000 per year. “We’ve got to get back to reality. It’s a terribly unfair situation.”

Stan Virden, representing the Homeowners Hurricane Insurance Initiative, said, “some of us are paying six times what we were before 2006. We have found that there is no sound actuarial basis for these rate increases and we need clarity on why our rates are so distorted.” Virden pointed out that this was the third state commission to study insurance reform, but “the major thing that has been suggested so far is fortification, which we support, but many of us do not have homes that can be raised to that level. We need the commission to come up with recommendations that will fix premiums today if you want to fix the problem."

Starke Irvine, speaking on behalf of the Baldwin County Association of Realtors, echoed that urgency, and said his group was strongly in favor of passing the Property Insurance Clarity Bill, which would require insurers to be more transparent by providing data about policies and premiums written in the state along with actuary and risk calculation information.

“What (the clarity bill) would do, in my opinion, is solve a problem that the insurance companies have developed themselves in the area of trustworthiness and dependability.” Irvine, who served on the Alabama Insurance Commission for seven years, said a similar bill is in place in Texas and it would be easy to implement given today’s digital infrastructure. “We want to see what you collect and what you pay out. We think that’s a fair thing to ask for, so when you tell me my premium is going up 500 percent I’ll understand it better.”

State Sen. Ben Brooks, who moderated the meeting, said, “We all know that we face a real crisis in the affordability and availability of homeowners insurance. We asked this commission hear our voices and help us build a statewide political consensus for solutions to this crisis. Everyone should know how strongly everyone on this commission feels about the issue of reform. They were appointed by the governor and serve without compensation.”

Other organizations represented at the meeting included the Alabama Bankers Association, South Alabama Veterans Council, Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, Mobile Mortgage Bankers Association, United Concerned Citizens of Prichard, Mobile Area Association of Realtors, South Alabama Regional Planning Commission and the Mobile Homebuilders Association.

Elected officials from Baldwin County who attended included Fairhope Mayor Tim Kant, State Senator Trip Pittman, State Representative Randy Davis, Baldwin County Commissioners Tucker Dorsey and Bob James and Daphne City Councilmen Derick Boulware and Ron Scott.

Judge Tim Russell, who chairs the commission, said he thought the meeting was productive. “Most importantly for me, is that after tonight the other commission members will understand what people are talking about,” Russell said. “I think the citizens have spoken loud and clear, and they want reform, and this commission wants reform, and our government wants reform. We are going to all work together to do what we can to solve the situation.”

The commission will be in Dothan for a public hearing tonight, and it expects to have similar meetings in Tuscaloosa, Decatur and Birmingham later this month.

Comments or suggestions can be mailed to:

Affordable Homeowners Insurance Commission

4112 Gordon Persons Building

50 N. Ripley Street

Montgomery, AL 36132