Alabama Insurance: All Your Needs in One Place

If you own a house in Alabama, you can protect your finances by purchasing a homeowners insurance policy. In Alabama, home insurance can:

• Cover your property: Dwelling insurance pays for loss or damage to the structure of your home, while contents insurance covers loss or damage to your personal property.  
• Cover against displacement: Loss of use insurance covers your extra living expenses if a covered event renders your home unsafe to live in until repairs are made.
• Cover against liability lawsuits: Homeowners liability insurance covers expenses related to liability lawsuits if you or a member of your household is sued.

Local independent insurance agents can help you be sure that you are buying sufficient amounts of coverage in each category.

Vehicle owners in Alabama need to carry car insurance. In Alabama, all car insurance policies must include:

• Auto liability insurance: This pays for other people’s injuries or property damage if you are at fault for an accident. Your policy must provide, at a minimum:
  • $25,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person
  • $50,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per accident
  • $25,000 in property damage liability coverage per accident

In addition to the coverage that is required by law, you can include several coverage options in your car insurance policy. Some of the options you are likely to see offered by insurance companies in Alabama include collision insurance, comprehensive insurance, uninsured motorist insurance, gap insurance, medical payments, rental car reimbursement insurance, and towing and roadside assistance.

A local independent insurance agent can help you determine which types of optional coverage are a good fit for you.

Businesses of all sizes can benefit from the protections of a business insurance policy.

• Most low-risk businesses that have fewer than 100 employees and less than $1 million in annual revenues qualify for a business owners policy (BOP). These policies are the least expensive option, but only provide general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance.
• Medium- and large-sized companies and high-risk small businesses need to get their coverage through a business insurance policy package. Buying coverage this way lets business owners choose from a wide variety of liability, property, and other commercial insurance products so they can build a policy that is customized to meet their company’s specific coverage needs.

If you own a company in Alabama, consult a local independent insurance agent for help finding the right coverage at the most affordable price.

If an employee is injured on the job or is diagnosed with occupational illnesses, workers’ compensation insurance can help by covering medical treatments, disability pay, and other related expenses.

In Alabama, if you have at least five employees, you must carry workers' compensation insurance. If your business is in the residential construction industry, you need to carry coverage regardless of the number of workers you have.

Policies may be purchased from a commercial insurance provider. With approval, qualified businesses have the option to self-insure.

Residents of Alabama can purchase insurance products that are designed to protect against losses caused by hazards they are likely to encounter. In this state, these risks include:

• Severe weather: Damaging weather events that can impact property owners in this state include windstorms, thunderstorms, tropical storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes.
• Falling objects: Insurance can cover things like uprooted trees, fallen branches, and hailstones.
• Catastrophic events: Some disasters need to be covered by specialized insurance policies. Residents of Alabama have a risk of:
  • Floods: Around 16% of properties in AL have a significant risk of flood damage.
  • Accidental fires: Most insurance policies cover damage caused by flames, smoke, and firefighting efforts.
  • Wildfires: Wildfires pose a risk to around 94% of properties in AL.
• Property crimes: Most policies cover losses related to burglary, vandalism, and arson.

Independent insurance agents live and work in your neighborhood so they are aware of the risks you face as a property or business owner in your Alabama city. Talk to an agent near you for help ensuring that you are suitably covered against all potential risks.

Nearly all homeowners, renters, and business insurance policies exclude coverage for flood damage. Unfortunately, more than 400,000 properties in this state have a significant risk of sustaining flood damage over the next 30 years.

To be protected against financial losses related to this hazard, you can purchase flood insurance. Affordable policies are available through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a program administered by FEMA.

If your property is located in a flood zone and you are still paying on a mortgage, your lender will require you to carry flood insurance. Otherwise, this coverage is optional. When deciding whether or not to purchase a policy, consider that the average compensation per flood claim in Alabama is $32,100. Flood policies take 30 days to go into effect.

Although some landlords and rental agencies require their tenants to carry renters insurance, most do not, so this coverage is usually optional.

Renters insurance is designed to protect against financial losses related to property damage, theft, displacement, and liability lawsuits. You may be surprised to find out that this versatile coverage is very affordable.

In Alabama, the average renters insurance policy costs just $235 a year, or less than $20 a month. Talk to a local independent insurance agent to learn more about what renters coverage can do for you.

Umbrella insurance, or excess liability insurance, is secondary insurance coverage that can significantly boost the liability protections offered by the policies you already have.

Because the coverage offered by an umbrella insurance policy does not kick in unless your primary insurance coverage has been exhausted, these policies are usually very affordable.

Personal umbrella insurance policies are typically sold in million-dollar increments at a cost of about $200 to $300 a year for every million dollars in coverage purchased, and commercial umbrella insurance policies typically cost about $500 a year for every million dollars in coverage purchased.

If you are shopping for any kind of insurance, you probably have a lot of questions such as:

• How much coverage do I need?
• Which Alabama insurance company is best for me?
• How can I find coverage at a good price?
• Which coverage options should I include?

A local independent agent can help you get answers to these and other questions you may have. With nearly 350 agencies located throughout the state, it should be easy to find an independent insurance agent near you. Contact an agent to start comparing customized insurance quotes in Alabama.