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Coastal insurance bills face a crucial test this week in the state Legislature.

The House and Senate Banking and Insurance committees are scheduled to meet in joint session Wednesday morning to take up legislation aimed at providing relief to homeowners along the coast.

“This could be one of the best opportunities for citizens concerned about this issue to come and let legislators know this is a crisis in Mobile and Baldwin counties,” said state Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, one of the leading sponsors of the bills. “And citizens are going to have to take the time to come up here

Coastal insurance bills face crucial test in Legislature

A joint legislative hearing is scheduled to be held Wednesday, March 11, 2009 beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the House Chamber on the 5th floor of the State House in Montgomery.

The hearing will focus on legislative initiatives to address Coastal Insurance problems. Individual citizens may testify before the legislators holding this public hearing, either in support or opposition to the legislation under consideration.

The following bills related to Coastal Insurance have been introduced in the House of Representatives by the Baldwin and Mobile delegations during the 2009 Regular Session.

Insurance issues?

Cartoon pig in chef hat and apronOur own Richard Shelby (R) is second on the list of the Senate’s top earmarkers, behind only Robert Byrd (D) of West Virginia. According to a report from Taxpayers at Common Sense (via Politico.com), Shelby brought home over $114 million of federal money to Alabama. Byrd brought almost $123 million to West Virginia.

Sen. Shelby 2nd on Earmarkers’ List

Something else to remember on election day. I should start a list.

Baldwin County commissioners will try to break another 2-2 impasse on an issue this week, but the idea of changing their membership to an odd number is dead for now, a legislator said.

State Rep. Harry Shiver, R-Bay Minette, said that after hearing complaints from the public about several tie votes on the four-member commission, he had wanted to introduce local legislation to change the membership to five. Another commissioner would also represent fast-growing Baldwin better, he said.

But when the Baldwin delegation was deciding what local bills to support in this session, state Rep. Steve McMillan, R-Gulf Shores, and state Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, expressed opposition to changing the makeup of the board, Shiver said

Representative says commission change bill ‘dead’

Insurers would be forbidden from canceling homeowners’ policies without cause under a bill filed Thursday by state Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose.

The legislation, first introduced last year, would prevent insurance carriers from canceling policies for homeowners who had not filed a claim in the preceding five years unless they had a “justifiable cause.”

The bill lists justifiable causes as failure to pay premiums, fraudulent methods of obtaining the policy, filing of a false claim, failure to maintain the property and “grounds as provided by the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance

Pittman’s bill would limit cancellation of homeowners’ policies

How can you be against BHO’s stimulus package and government interference in the markets but support this government interference in the insurance industry?

Saying that incumbent U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner of Mobile has lost touch with core Republican values, a Baldwin County real estate developer and political rookie plans to challenge him in next year’s GOP primary.

“He’s just been doing a poor job and there are no consequences,” said Peter Gounares of Orange Beach.

Gounares, who turns 35 today, singled out Bonner’s support last fall of a $700 billion bailout for the financial services industry. Bonner, who twice voted for the bill, said he did so out of fear that the costs of inaction would be worse for the nation’s economy

Orange Beach developer to challenge Bonner in 2010 GOP primary

A Senate committee is scheduled to hold hearings today on a package of coastal insurance bills. The three bills, sponsored by state Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, would:

• Extend insurance credits to homeowners who build, repair or upgrade homes to be more storm-resistant;
• Change the way insurance companies paying into the Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association, or beach pool, can avoid disaster assessments
• Require hurricane deductibles to be applied to damage incurred by named hurricanes or tropical storms

Legislative hearings begin today on coastal insurance bills

The selection of Republican Sen. Judd Gregg as commerce secretary could propel Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions to the top GOP spot on the Budget Committee and a lead role in negotiating fiscal issues with President Barack Obama.

The post would give Sessions, a staunch fiscal conservative, an inside seat during budget negotiations and a national platform for criticizing Democratic spending plans. It also would give him influence to get home-state priorities and pet projects moving toward federal funding

Obama pick could open top budget seat for Sessions

Alabama Reps. Randy Davis and Joe Faust discussed the impact of rising insurance premiums on Baldwin County residents at Thursday’s “Coffee with the Mayor” in council chambers at City Hall.

Faust said he’s met with the state insurance commissioner to talk about implementing a captive-insurance program. A captive-insurance company is a subsidiary of a parent insurance entity, formed to insure some of the parent’s risks. The captive company will buy reinsurance from the traditional insurance market. Captives can give consumers direct access to the reinsurance market and can limit fluctuating premium rates.

This alternative can be a means of bypassing insurance company overheads and expenses and can cut insurance rates by up to 40 percent, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Insurance, economy discussed

This website is dedicated to garnering support for Congressman Jo Bonner and encouraging him to run for Governor in 2010. Whether you’re still trying to find the right candidate to support or even if you’re already thinking about supporting someone else, we hope you’ll give Jo Bonner your consideration. He has a proven conservative record, and he has what it takes to make a difference for us in Montgomery.

DraftBonner.com

It’s not like Baldwin County lawmakers didn’t already favor reduced coastal insurance rates, but now they’ve publicly signed a pledge reaffirming that stance.

More than 400 people crowded into a church hall Thursday night to press those legislators for action, in a meeting organized by All Churches Together, a religious coalition.

The coalition’s goals include cheaper premiums, coverage that won’t be dropped and fair payment of claims

Baldwin County, Ala., legislators pledge to win improvement on property insurance

With no obvious Republican front-runner in sight for the 2010 governor’s race, speculation is buzzing within GOP circles that U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner of Mobile is mulling a bid for the state’s top job.

“I think there’s a lot of qualified candidates …,” Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine said Monday. “And of course, Jo’s name has been out there for a month or two.”

A half-dozen other Republican officeholders and activists interviewed by the Press-Register this week also said they had heard that Bonner could be eyeing the race. All, however, said they have no direct knowledge of his plans.

possible Jo Bonner run for Alabama governor

New Alabama Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling said Tuesday that Gov. Bob Riley’s administration is mulling plans to subsidize homeowners insurance in Mobile and Baldwin counties, a potentially major shift.

He indicated that among possibilities would be to provide subsidies to help residents cover high deductibles. He also indicated that the state would consider giving tax credits or rebates to Mobile and Baldwin residents whose rates are much higher than statewide averages.

Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, indicated that a third possibility could call for using state money to provide funding to create a captive insurance company that would write policies in coastal areas. Such a company has been under discussion for several years, but finding money for initial reserves has been a hurdle. Advocates have also sought money from cities and counties.

Ridling warned that spending state money to help coastal residents pay for insurance would be resisted by the rest of the state.

Alabama insurance commissioner says state considering subsidies for coastal homeowners insurance

Surely we’re not asking for a handout from the state to pay our insurance, are we? Fair prices and equal treatment is what’s really needed. If a building is structurally sound and meets code requirements insurance should be available. If you can’t afford your insurance, move.

Gov. Bob Riley is appealing a judge’s decision that blocked state plans to build an upscale hotel and conference center at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores.

“We can’t continue to lose millions of convention dollars to our neighboring state of Florida because we don’t have adequate hotel and convention facilities at Gulf State Park,” Riley said in a statement Thursday.

The state’s plain concrete lodge with 144 rooms at the park was destroyed in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan. The state developed plans to replace it with a 350-room, $100 million luxury hotel, conference center and spa that would be run by West Paces Hotel Group, with Auburn University hospitality industry students working at the site.

Governor appeals ruling stopping Gulf Coast hotel

Alabama’s economy will avoid a downturn by expanding about a half percent this year before rebounding to grow by 1.1 percent in 2009, an economist told state job hunters.

Loren Scott, president of Baton Rouge-based Loren C. Scott & Associates Inc., is one of the 32 members of the National Business Economic Issues Council, a group that meets quarterly to discuss issues about the economy. He is a busy public speaker and has appeared on the MSNBC, CNBC and Bloomberg Television networks.

Scott told members of the Economic Development Association of Alabama on Monday that the jury is still out on whether the nation’s economy is in an actual recession or heading into one. He said there is about a 25 percent chance the U.S. economy is meeting all the criteria used to officially define a recession.

Economist says Alabama bucking downturn