Following Hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Katrina (2005) and the unprecedented turmoil to Alabama’s coastal property insurance markets, policymakers leaned into these issues in search of solutions. Various interest groups presented very different solutions supported by mutually exclusive evidence. Because insurance is complex and important, Alabama needed an unbiased source of reliable information.
In 2013, by executive order, Governor Robert Bentley created the Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research (ACIIR) addressing risk and insurance problems through research and education. While ACIIR continues to work on catastrophe risk problems, the center also addresses issues concerning casualty, liability, life, health, and pension markets. Perhaps more importantly, ACIIR focuses on loss mitigation and resilience to reduce the effects of losses on individuals and the economy.
ACIIR’s mission aims to provide highly credible information and research insight on risk management to various stakeholders that contribute to the economic development of Alabama – including consumers, policymakers, insurance companies, intermediaries, trade groups, and others. The Center achieves this mission by focusing on the following four areas: