June 2020
- Four of the 10 costliest hurricanes in U.S. history have impacted Alabama: Hurricane Michael in 2018, Hurricanes Irma and Harvey in 2017, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
- There were 54,348 flood insurance policies in Alabama in 2018. Standard homeowners policies typically do not cover flood damage. Flood insurance is covered by the National Flood Insurance Program, but private flood insurance is becoming increasingly available.
- There were 784,657 people living in coastal areas in Alabama in 2015, up by 2.5 percent from 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- In Alabama, about 52,000 single-family homes were at risk in 2020 for storm surge damage from hurricanes up to Category 5 strength, according to CoreLogic, Inc. These homes would cost $9.4 billion to completely rebuild, including labor and materials.
- The Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association (AIUA) was voluntarily formed in the early 1970s by the insurance industry in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Insurance as a market of last resort to provide property and windstorm and hail insurance in the coastal areas of Alabama.
- The AIUA’s exposure base has expanded rapidly. The exposure to loss—insured value of all properties—was $5.1 billion in fiscal year 2019 up from about $3.3 billion for fiscal year 2010. The AIUA had about 18,000 policies in force in fiscal year 2019 compared with 21,000 policies in 2018.
- AIUA policies have a hurricane deductible that applies only in the event of a hurricane. The standard deductible for all other perils is $500.
Top 10 Writers Of Commercial Insurance In Alabama By Direct Premiums Written, 2019 (1)
| Rank |
Group/company |
Direct premiums written ($000) |
Market share |
| 1 |
Travelers Companies Inc. |
$248,292 |
6.6% |
| 2 |
Liberty Mutual |
160,252 |
4.3 |
| 3 |
Chubb |
154,583 |
4.1 |
| 4 |
Auto-Owners Insurance Co. |
150,333 |
4.0 |
| 5 |
CNA |
145,014 |
3.9 |
| 6 |
Zurich |
137,079 |
3.6 |
| 7 |
American International Group (AIG) |
130,932 |
3.5 |
| 8 |
Nationwide Mutual Group |
118,437 |
3.2 |
| 9 |
The Cincinnati Insurance Cos. |
114,654 |
3.0 |
| 10 |
Progressive |
102,638 |
2.7 |
(1) Before reinsurance transactions.
Source: NAIC data, sourced from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Insurance Information Institute.
Top 10 Writers Of Homeowners Insurance In Alabama By Direct Premiums Written, 2019 (1)
| Rank |
Group/company |
Direct premiums written ($000) |
Market share |
| 1 |
State Farm |
$496,918 |
27.2% |
| 2 |
Alfa Mutual Group |
250,507 |
13.7 |
| 3 |
Allstate Corp. |
218,869 |
12.0 |
| 4 |
USAA Insurance Group |
161,541 |
8.8 |
| 5 |
Travelers Companies Inc. |
83,955 |
4.6 |
| 6 |
Farmers Insurance Group |
79,939 |
4.4 |
| 7 |
Liberty Mutual |
62,671 |
3.4 |
| 8 |
Auto-Owners Insurance Co. |
49,501 |
2.7 |
| 9 |
Nationwide Mutual Group |
45,893 |
2.5 |
| 10 |
COUNTRY Financial |
41,043 |
2.2 |
(1) Before reinsurance transactions.
Source: NAIC data, sourced from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Insurance Information Institute.
Top 10 Writers Of Private Passenger Auto Insurance In Alabama By Direct Premiums Written, 2019 (1)
| Rank |
Group/company |
Direct premiums written ($000) |
Market share |
| 1 |
State Farm |
$847,370 |
23.0% |
| 2 |
Alfa Mutual Group |
501,549 |
13.6 |
| 3 |
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. |
414,662 |
11.2 |
| 4 |
Allstate Corp. |
400,960 |
10.9 |
| 5 |
Progressive |
345,091 |
9.3 |
| 6 |
USAA Insurance Group |
275,865 |
7.5 |
| 7 |
National General Holdings Corp. |
115,379 |
3.1 |
| 8 |
Travelers Companies Inc. |
82,966 |
2.2 |
| 9 |
Liberty Mutual |
78,023 |
2.1 |
| 10 |
Farmers Insurance Group |
78,012 |
2.1 |
(1) Before reinsurance transactions.
Source: NAIC data, sourced from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Insurance Information Institute.
Top 10 Costliest Hurricanes In The United States (1)
| |
|
|
Estimated insured loss |
| Rank |
Year |
Hurricane |
Dollars when occurred |
In 2024 dollars (2) |
| 1 |
2005 |
Hurricane Katrina |
$65,000 |
$104,471 |
| 2 |
2022 |
Hurricane Ian |
54,000 |
57,231 |
| 3 |
2021 |
Hurricane Ida |
36,000 |
41,540 |
| 4 |
2012 |
Hurricane Sandy |
30,000 |
40,939 |
| 5 |
2017 |
Hurricane Harvey |
30,000 |
38,571 |
| 6 |
2017 |
Hurricane Irma |
30,050 |
38,432 |
| 7 |
2017 |
Hurricane Maria |
29,511 |
37,743 |
| 8 |
1992 |
Hurricane Andrew |
16,000 |
35,845 |
| 9 |
2008 |
Hurricane Ike |
18,200 |
26,259 |
| 10 |
2024 |
Hurricane Milton |
20,000 |
20,000 |
(1) Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs such as the National Flood Insurance Program. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed. As of January 2025.
(2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. Consumer Price Index.
Source: Aon.
Estimated Value Of Insured Coastal Properties Vulnerable To Hurricanes By State, 2015 (1)
| Rank |
State |
Commercial |
Residential |
Total Coastal |
Total exposure (2) |
Coastal as a percent of total |
| 1 |
New York |
$2,093 |
$1,272 |
$3,365 |
$5,571 |
68% |
| 2 |
Florida |
1,483 |
1,718 |
3,200 |
4,058 |
79 |
| 3 |
Virginia |
92 |
106 |
1,993 |
2,078 |
10 |
| 4 |
Texas |
725 |
638 |
1,363 |
5,358 |
28 |
| 5 |
Massachusetts |
441 |
511 |
953 |
1,765 |
54 |
| 6 |
New Jersey |
373 |
422 |
795 |
2,453 |
32 |
| 7 |
Connecticut |
290 |
385 |
675 |
1,025 |
64 |
| 8 |
Louisiana |
182 |
147 |
329 |
896 |
38 |
| 9 |
South Carolina |
112 |
126 |
239 |
931 |
26 |
| 10 |
Maine |
73 |
111 |
184 |
321 |
53 |
| 11 |
North Carolina |
69 |
109 |
178 |
2,014 |
8 |
| 12 |
Alabama |
63 |
65 |
128 |
1,014 |
13 |
| 13 |
Georgia |
53 |
56 |
109 |
2,171 |
5 |
| 14 |
Delaware |
34 |
59 |
93 |
241 |
29 |
| 15 |
New Hampshire |
32 |
42 |
74 |
328 |
23 |
| 16 |
Mississippi |
36 |
35 |
71 |
527 |
14 |
| 17 |
Rhode Island |
25 |
46 |
71 |
241 |
22 |
| 18 |
Maryland |
8 |
10 |
18 |
1,476 |
1 |
| |
All states above |
$6,184 |
$5,858 |
$13,838 |
$32,468 |
38% |
| |
Total, United States |
$6,184 |
$5,858 |
$13,838 |
NA |
16% |
(1) Includes residential and commercial Gulf and East Coast properties, as of December 31, 2015. Ranked by value of total insured coastal property.
(2) Total exposure is an estimate of the actual total value of all property in the state that is insured or can be insured, including the full replacement value of structures and their contents, additional living expenses and the time value of business interruption coverage.
NA=Data not available.
Source: AIR Worldwide.
Other Resources
Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association
I.I.I. Facts & Stats: Flood Insurance
I.I.I. Facts & Stats: Hurricanes
I.I.I. Issues Updates: Catastrophes
I.I.I. Issues Updates: Hurricane and Windstorm Deductibles
