ROBERTSDALE, Alabama --- Insurance costs can certainly be a major factor when building or purchasing a home.

For Realtors in coastal areas such as Baldwin County, the high number of claims over the last few years has caused insurance rates to skyrocket, leaving some areas not even able to get coverage from major insurance carriers.

Up until this year, Alabama was ranked No. 7 in total damage claims in the United States, but following the recent devastating tornadoes in Tuscaloosa and the Birmingham area, the state now ranks as the highest.

“I’m pretty sure that is in total dollars, not per capita,” said Darius Grimes.

That has made a big impact, particularly in today’s soft market. But that is changing, said Grimes, who is president of Disaster Smart Inspection Consulting.

Grimes spoke to the June meeting of the Baldwin County Association of Realtors on Thursday, sponsored by First Baldwin Insurance Company of Foley.

“Let’s say you drive a Corvette and someone else drives a Ford F-150 pickup truck,” Grimes said. “Needless to say, you will be paying more for insurance because the Ford F-150 has proven to be a much safer vehicle, therefore much more likely to sustain less damage should a devastating accident occur.”

You would think that homeowners insurance would work the same way, Grimes said, but up until recently it didn’t.

“Up until recently you could have two homes side by side in the same area and the insurance would be the same, even though one has proven to have been built with stronger, safer materials,” Grimes said.

The state of Alabama, in particular Baldwin County, has taken the lead in two major areas to change that, Grimes said.

First, the state has begun using the Fortified Homes program, providing incentives for home builders who use safer building materials.

The Fortified program provides three levels of building, which go above and beyond existing building standards. Grimes said. The bronze level provides a 10 percent discount, silver, 15 percent and gold a 25 percent discount on insurance rates.

“These are minimum discounts,” Grimes said. “There have been instances where the discounts can be higher, depending on the level of building standards.”

The other factor has been the push by local government to adopt the 2012 International Building Codes. The Baldwin County Commission has adopted the new building standards for all unincorporated areas and is encouraging all municipalities in Baldwin County to adopt the new standards.

The county, along with several municipalities, has also adopted the Smart Home America Coastal Code Supplement. But that is only half the battle, Grimes said.

“Having the codes in place means nothing unless those codes are enforced,” Grimes said.

Part of ensuring the codes are enforced falls to the MLS or Multiple Listing Service that groups like the Baldwin County Association of Realtors use to spread the word about properties.

“That information (that homes are being built to a higher standard) needs to be put out there,” Grimes said. “If the MLS is not providing that information when the homes are listed, then the insurance companies won’t know to provide the discounts.”

The other factor lies with the contractors themselves.

“A lot of them are operating on what I like to call ‘tribal knowledge,’” Grimes said, “and that is with the mentality that ‘well that’s the way I’ve always done it and I haven’t had any homes destroyed by a hurricane, so that’s the way I’m going to continue to do it.’ That attitude more than anything needs to change if we are to move forward.”

In other business Thursday at the Association’s meeting:

• Joseph Roh, assistant principal and International Baccalaureate coordinator at Daphne High School, gave a brief update on the program.

• Sylvia Stewart, president of the Alabama CRS Chapter, introduced Tamatha McElmurry as the latest recipient of the CRS designation. Less than 3 percent of Realtors qualify for the CRS designation, Stewart said.

• Leonard Kaiser received a Sterling R Plaque given to Realtors who contribute at least $1,000 to ARPAC in one year. Kaiser was one of four recipients of the award last year. He is the only qualifier so far this year.

• Extended a special thank you to Spectrum Realty LLC of Alabama, Amy Stehmeyer and her staff for hosting Casino Night, which raised over $11,000 for ARPAC.

• Announced that nominations are being sought for the annual Realtor of the Year Award.

• Announced that early bird registration fees for the one-day Residential Real Estate Financial Analysis Workshop has been extended to June 30. The class will be held July 15 at the Association office. Cost is $130 and earns seven CE credits.

• Announced that the Alabama Association of Realtors Convention will be held Sept. 18-20 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans.