Latest Alabama Headlines
All the headlines from our Alabama Topic Page, ordered by recency.
A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Alabama’s Alfa Corp. and Subsidiaries
Jan 15 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Alabama-based Alfa Insurance Group and its members. Concurrently, A.M. Best has...
100-Year Old Alabama Home Destroyed, 9-Year Old Responsible
Jan 14 2008 // Baldwin County authorities said a 9-year-old boy has admitted to setting a fire on New Year’s Eve that destroyed his great-grandmother’s 100-year-old home in Marlow, Ala. Gib Hixon, chief of the Fish...
Ala.-Based Baggett Transportation Wins Insurance Co.’s Safety Award
Jan 9 2008 // First Guard Insurance Co., of Venice, Fla., awarded Birmingham, Ala.-based Baggett Transportation Co., with the “Fleet of the Year” award for 2007. The Fleet of the Year award is presented to the trucking...
Two Charged in East Alabama Church Fires
Jan 8 2008 // Two Smiths, Ala., men have been charged on arson and burglary charges in connection with three church fires that occurred since Jan 1, State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk announced Monday. Geoffrey Parquette, 21, was charged with...
3rd Alabama Church Arson in 2 Days Prompts Command Post
Jan 7 2008 // Investigators are trying to determine what started separate fires that gutted a church and two houses in rural Lee County, Ala. Authorities said a man was seriously injured in a house fire reported about 1 a.m. on Jan. 3,...
Ala. Insurance Agent Loses Runoff for House Distict 12 in Light Voting
Dec 21 2007 // Cullman County, Ala., Commissioner Wayne Willingham won the Republican nomination for Alabama House District 12 and advances to the general election Jan. 29 against Democrat James C. Fields. In light voting in the...
National Weather Service says Alabama at High Risk for Wildfires
Dec 19 2007 // National Weather Service forecasters and officials with the Alabama Forestry Commission say Alabama is at an unusually high risk for wildfires, despite a cold snap. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag...
Farmers Insurance Offers One-Year Auto Policy in Alabama
Dec 11 2007 // Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, including Farmers Insurance Exchange will offer an annual auto insurance policy in Alabama that will allow auto insurance policyholders and new customers to choose a full-year auto...
Ala.: Nabers Rejoins ProAssurance Board of Directors
Dec 7 2007 // The Board of Directors of Birmingham, Ala.-based ProAssurance Corp., elected Drayton Nabers Jr. to serve on its Board. Nabers previously served on the Board until he resigned to enter state government. Since leaving his...
Alabama Senator: English Only Driver Test Will Improve Highway Safety
Dec 5 2007 // An Alabama state senator who is vice chairman of a panel studying immigration issues in Alabama said Monday he will introduce legislation to require the state driver’s license exam be given in English only. The...
16 Alabama Federal Judges Step Aside from Scruggs Contempt Case
Nov 19 2007 // Every eligible federal judge in north Alabama has stepped aside from presiding in the criminal contempt case of Mississippi trial lawyer Richard Scruggs, who is accused of disobeying an order by failing to turn over...
Ala. Gov. Grants Pilot Program on School Bus Seat Belts
Nov 13 2007 // Some Alabama children who take the bus to school will be buckled-up during the trip for the first time next year thanks to a grant awarded by a special panel Gov. Bob Riley appointed. Riley convened the Governor’s...
Alabama Outdoorsman Must Pay $1 Million for Bogus Katrina Claim
Nov 12 2007 // A federal judge has ordered jailed Ala. outdoorsman Edmond H. “Eddie” Smith IV to pay more than $1 million to an insurance firm that accused him of filing a bogus post-Hurricane Katrina damage claim for a...
Alabama-Based Alfa Mutual to Buy Rest of Alfa Corp. for $840 Million
Nov 8 2007 // Life insurance company Alfa Corp. has agreed to be acquired by its majority owners, Alfa Mutual Insurance Co. and Alfa Mutual Fire Insurance Co., for about $840 million. Alfa Mutual will pay $22 per share for shares of...
Fla. Couple Arrested for Allegedly Burning Residence
Nov 2 2007 // A Crestview, Fla., couple is facing felony charges stemming from the suspicion that they intentionally set their home on fire. Zachary Lee Dalton and his wife Kellie Elizabeth Hahn, both 24, were arrested Oct. 31 by the...
Head of Ala. Teachers Group Concerned About Coastal Insurance Bill
Oct 22 2007 // The head of Alabama’s teachers’ organization is concerned that legislation designed to improve the availability of insurance along the Alabama coast could have another effect – eliminating tax dollars for...
No Consensus for Alabama Special Session on Coastal Insurance
Oct 2 2007 // Alabama legislators unveiled a law designed to help the Gulf Coast real estate industry and coastal homeowners hit by high insurance rates but Gov. Bob Riley said there is no current consensus to address it in a special...
Scruggs Asks Alabama Judge to Throw Out Katrina-Related Charge
Sep 30 2007 // Mississippi trial lawyer Richard Scruggs has asked a federal judge to throw out a charge accusing him of criminal contempt in a dispute related to insurance claims after Hurricane Katrina. In court papers made public last...
Alabama Hearing Highlights Catastrophe Plan Options
Sep 26 2007 // Whether the nation needs a federal or other governmental program to deal with insurance costs and availability for natural catastrophes in U.S. coastal states was the central question at a public hearing in Mobile, Ala.,...
Alabama Residents Back in Homes After Train Leaves Tracks
Sep 26 2007 // A train derailment in Flomaton, Ala., over the weekend caused some anxiety and evacuations after authorities learned that the 66-car train was carrying anhydrous ammonia. The derailment that occurred after 9 p.m. on Sept....
