The Alabama Department of Insurance established the Office of Risk and Resilience on October 1, 2023, to promote a healthy and sustainable insurance market in Alabama by working
to solve issues of risk and resilience facing by the market both now and in the future. The concepts of combining risk and resilience with insurance market stability is not new, but
more critical today than ever before.
The Office of Risk and Resilience is the department’s forward-thinking response to the challenges we as face from storms and natural disasters that threaten our state and its citizens.
Innovative in concept and design within a government agency, the Office of Risk and Resilience actively seeks opportunities to help solve issues within the insurance industry in Alabama.
Former Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling lit the fuse that started all this off for Alabama. Acknowledging that storms and natural disasters will come, he said, “You’re not going to do
anything about the insurance market until you change the economics of what happen after the storm hits.” That one statement started all of this. Prepare on the front end, so you can
withstand better and recover quicker.
Since then, the Alabama Department of Insurance has been proactive in establishing innovative programs to help Alabama have a healthy insurance market. That means doing things to help make
insurance available and affordable across the state.
By assessing insurance market issues and determining market vulnerabilities, the office is tasked to help develop and implement risk controls to help sustain a healthy insurance market in
Alabama. This office fills a need of working to provide valuable resources and expertise to the insurance industry and consumers in the ever-expanding space of risk and resilience.
Responding to the challenges in today’s property insurance market, the establishment of the Office of Risk and Resilience is the latest step by the Alabama Department of Insurance to ensure
Alabama sustains a healthy, stable insurance market.
In 2012, the Alabama State Legislature established the Strengthen Alabama Homes program, designed to help residents improve their homes with updated building modifications, also known as wind
retrofitting, to minimize property damage due to hurricanes or other catastrophic windstorms. This program is a risk control measure and is housed in the Office of Risk and Resilience.
The grants, subject to availability of funding, assist with retrofitting existing homes for qualified homeowners. Strengthening your home against wind damage through Strengthen Alabama Homes
may qualify you for homeowner insurance wind premium discounts. The FORTIFIED standard must be met and certified to take advantage of these discounts.
State officials and the insurance industry have taken notice of the success of the program in minimizing damage, allowing citizens to return to a normal life more quickly after a storm and
keeping Alabama’ economy strong.
Along with Strengthen Alabama Homes and the establishment of the Office of Risk and Resilience, the Alabama Department of Insurance is a member of the Alabama Resilience Council.
Established in 2023 by Governor Kay Ivy, the Alabama Resilience Council was created to help state government, along with federal and private partners, take a holistic approach to resilience
so that we build stronger, save lives and protect Alabama’s economy. Alabama Insurance Commissioner Mark Fowler serves as co-chair of the council, alongside Alabama EMA Director Jeff Smitherman.
Together, these initiatives highlight the department’s unwavering commitment to work and solve resilience issues within the insurance market, ensuring Alabama retains its place as the most
resilient state in the nation.
For more information about the Strengthen Alabama Homes Program, please visit our website at https://strengthenalabamahomes.com/.
For more information about the FORTIFIED standard, please visit the Insurance Institute For Business & Home Safety.
For more information about the Alabama Resilience Council, visit www.safestrongal.com.
Address
Office of Risk and Resilience
Alabama Department of Insurance
201 Monroe Street, Suite 502
Montgomery, AL 36104
P.O. Box 303352
Montgomery, AL 36130
Phone
(334) 240-4440