Commissioner Fowler testifies to California Assembly about Alabama's mitigation success

Contact: Jennifer Bowen
(334) 269-3550

5/1/2025

Alabama Insurance Commissioner Mark Fowler on Wednesday joined California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to testify before the Insurance Committee of the California Assembly about the success of the Strengthen Alabama Homes program and how mitigation efforts have made Alabama a safer, more resilient place to live.

Commissioner Fowler was invited by Commissioner Lara as the Assembly considers the California Safe Homes Act, aimed at establishing a grant program to reduce losses from wildfires and other severe weather threats.

“Alabama has been a leader in risk mitigation and home hardening and their work over the last 10 years serves as a vital example for California to follow," Commissioner Lara said. 

The bill would establish a program in California that is modeled after the Strengthen Alabama Homes program.

“Through our meetings across the country and internationally, we have learned from each other and seen first-hand how our insurance markets are connected.  When Californians have a strong and sustainable insurance market, Alabamians benefit too. That is why I am here today, to advocate for all our insurance consumers,” Fowler said. 

Since issuing its first grant in 2016, the Strengthen Alabama Homes program has issued more than $86 million in grants and fortified more than 8,700 homes across the state.

Fowler noted that support from both the public and private sectors has been key to the program’s success, including from the insurance industry and agents, state and local government leaders, academia and nonprofits.

“It’s didn’t happen overnight. It took a great deal of grit and determination by an awful lot of people, all pulling the wagon together, to see it through,” Fowler said.

Strengthen Alabama Homes, managed by the insurance department, was the state’s response to the devastation left behind after Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina targeted coastal Alabama, leaving residents rebuilding their lives and the state facing an insurance crisis. Adopting the IBHS Fortified system as the standard for the program led to more resilient building, helping stabilize the insurance market.

Today, Alabama is the most Fortified state in the country.

While the risks in California are different than the risks in Alabama, the foundational principles of smart mitigation remain the same.

“Natural disasters, be they windstorms, earthquakes, or wildfires, will come no matter what we do.  This program is really all about effectively addressing insurance access and affordability and market stability, and giving the people of our respective states, from Alabama to California, the opportunity to build stronger, recover quicker, and live safer.” Fowler testified.

The California Safe Homes Act “will help you pave the way.”

The bill was unanimously approved by the California Assembly Insurance Committee 16-0.

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