Mr. Altman wrote a very good article about a senate hearing on the Transparency bill. The people who are paying outrageous premiums for homeowners insurance thank you for that coverage. More people need to know that there is a solution. Homeowners Hurricane Insurance Initiative (HHII) is working hard to achieve equity in insurance premiums.

If Senator Barron had been able to overcome the noise of Insurance money he would have heard a reasoned presentation by the Homeowners Hurricane Insurance Initiative people. If he had cared to listen he would have found out that there is plenty of reason to question what the Insurance companies are saying about risk being greater on the coast. He would have heard that 65% of the damages paid out after Ivan were north of Baldwin Co. He would have heard that widows who paid insurance all their life with no claims are being dropped. He would have heard statistics on the economic impact of the $200 million overcharges to Mobile and Baldwin county homeowners. Those premiums mostly go out of state and out of our country to large insurance companies and re-insurance companies. He would have heard the Chamber of Commerce testify about the difficulties that businesses are having because of the inflated premiums.

Mr Barron is immune to the pain of the Habitat for Humanity folks who can’t pay the ridiculously high insurance premiums because he is comfortably nestled in Insurance Company money. He is insulated against the chill of seeing people lose their homes and businesses.

Defending his vote, Senator Barron attempts to belittle and minimize the efforts by Senators Brooks and Pittman. "That doesn't do anything," Barron said. "All of this looks like political grandstanding, to me." If it is just “political grandstanding” why have the Insurance Companies been so strongly against any insurance reform legislation?

HHII, a faith based community organization, which is part of ACT II, is actively working in Mobile and Baldwin Counties to learn about the problem and to work for solutions. Senator Pittman and Representative Faust filed our Transparency bill that would provide to the public information about premiums and claims that would help us determine if the coast is at more risk, and if so how much. Our investigation indicates that there may be no more risk. In the past ten years we have had two hurricanes, but according to NOAH the state has had 220 tornadoes. 220 tornadoes cause a lot of destruction.

Three other states already provide this information to the public on web pages. Insurance companies have the information we are asking for, they need it to make business decisions. Our request does not cost them anything. But, they must believe that if we know what they know, we will see that they are overcharging everybody in the State of Alabama.

There is more information at the web site www.hhii.us.

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