Market Referral List Available on June 13

Contact: Ragan Ingram, Assistant Commissioner
334-241-4156

6/10/2005

Mobile and Baldwin consumers that are looking for property insurance can turn to local organizations for some help Monday when Baldwin-Mobile Market Referral List becomes available.

Coastal area Home Builders and Realtor organizations are teaming with members of the insurance industry to create a market referral list to provide area citizens with sources to contact regarding property insurance.

The market referral list is the first project to come from the Hurricane Insurance Issues Task Force, which was appointed by Governor Bob Riley and Insurance Commissioner Walter A. Bell.  The cooperative venture is led by the Baldwin Association of Realtors, the Baldwin County Home Builders Association, the Mobile Area Association of Realtors, the Home Builders Association of Metro Mobile, and the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents.

Among other issues, the Task Force is studying ways to make property insurance in Baldwin and Mobile counties more affordable and available.

To obtain a copy of the Market Referral List, contact:

  • Baldwin Association of Realtors    251-928-1708
  • Baldwin County Home Builders Association  251-928-9927
  • Mobile Area Association of Realtors   251-479-8654
  • Home Builders Association of Metro Mobile   251-661-6523
  • Alabama Independent Insurance Agents   866-315-8324

The goal of the plan is to help those who reside or own businesses in Baldwin and Mobile counties find property insurance.   Inclusion in the market referral list is strictly voluntary.  It does not obligate any company or agency to write any particular policy, but rather indicates a willingness to be contacted by consumers.

Governor Bob Riley thanked the local organizations for their willingness to lead this effort.

"Communication is an important tool for Alabama consumers,” Governor Riley said. “This market referral list will provide citizens in coastal Alabama access to people who can answer questions and potentially provide help. I want to thank the Baldwin and Mobile Realtors and Homebuilders, as well as the companies and agencies that are willing to participate in this project. It should be a big help."

Sylvia Stewart, the present of the Baldwin Realtors, said it was her organization’s goal “to keep insurance affordable and available.”

“People who are purchasing a home that require a mortgage must have coverage for that home,” Stewart said. “They must be able to afford that coverage. I appreciate the proactive approach of the Alabama Department of Insurance in working with the Task Force and the insurance companies to come up with a workable solution for the consumer and the insurance industry.”

Beverly Faulkner, Baldwin Home Builders’ president, said her group is “committed to assisting the Market Assistance Plan in its efforts to communicate to the public all measures deemed necessary in securing the availability of insurance coverage to meet their needs.”

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