http://www.fox10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5239170
By Anissa Centers
MOBILE - <>
A year after Hurricane Katrina, your generosity continues to help one family at a time. Thursday, August 3rd, a local family found out their dream had come true.
Amy Walker and her family were moved to tears today, but they are happier than they've been in a long time.
"This is a new beginning for all of us. We've been through a lot" said Amy.
When they drove up to a mobile home in Grand Bay they had no idea what was in store for them. All they knew was that some of the agencies that had been helping them recover from Katrina had found a place for them to live.
What they saw when they drove up was more than a dozen people moving brand new furniture into the Walker's brand new home. A home that is now theirs to keep.
The Walker's children, 11 year old Jessica, 9 year old Haley and 7 year old Carmen all have rooms of their own. Dad, Donnie has peace of mind and Mom, Amy, well cried tears of happiness.
"This is heaven sent and all ya'll are God's angels to me" Amy told the group that gathered to greet them.
It's hard to explain what this means to the Walker family, until you know what they've been through during the past year. Before Katrina, the Walker's had their own mobile home. but the storm destroyed almost everything they had. When they went back to their home after Katrina to see what they could save, Amy Walker fell through a hole in the house. That injury hurt the family more than Katrina ever could. Her husband Donny explains. "She had several surgeries. I had to take off work a lot. The medications she has to take are very expensive. It's just been real hard."
Those surgeries Amy needed led to complications like blood clots. The family says there were times they didn't know if she would live. She was in such bad shape, Donny finally had to stop working so he could care for her full time.
The whole family has been living in a small travel trailer since the storm.
When relief agents asked Amy what she really wanted, she told them her one wish was that her family would have a safe place to call home if anything happened to her. She got her wish.
"I'm just saying ya'll are heaven sent to my family. This is a dream come true" said Walker.
There was one final surprise for the walker's. It's probably the biggest one. All of the agencies have started a college fund for all 3 Walker girls. When they turn 18, they'll know they can attend college.
The grops are asking you to donate to the fund. You can call the Volunteers of America for information. The number is 251-344-4500. Ask to speak with Margaret Coley. Or, you can send checks to Volunteers of America, 7142 Montlimar Drive, Mobile, Alabama, 36609.
Make the check out to volunteers of America, but make sure you write on the bottom of the check that the money is for the Walker Children.
Now the bad news but actually it doesn't surprise me at all. Our insurance has already gone up sky high here and now this. Oh and yes this is our insurance carrier.
http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1154683240296400.xml&coll=3
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Alfa plans to drop about 2,300 local wind policies
Friday, August 04, 2006
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter
Alfa Insurance Co. expects to discontinue wind coverage for about 2,300 property insurance policyholders in Mobile and Baldwin counties in the coming months, a company spokesman said this week.
Though the company has notified the Alabama Department of Insurance of its intentions, it has not provided an exact number of households that would have to seek new coverage for wind and hail damage, said Ragan Ingram, the state's assistant insurance commissioner.
Regulated firms, such as Alfa, must give 90 days' prior notice of coverage changes to the Insurance Department and are required to alert policyholders 60 days in advance. Alfa, which writes about 21 percent of all property and casualty insurance policies in Alabama, previously discontinued coverage for 2,300 coastal customers in the wake of 2004's Hurricane Ivan.
In 2005, it also canceled another 50 or so commercial and church policies for which insured values exceeded $1 million, according to reports.
Company spokesman Dave Rickey said the planned discontinuations, which will probably occur when homeowners try to renew their policies, are related to those made after Ivan in that they are an "ongoing" examination of the insurer's risks.
Like the previous round of coverage changes, about 2,300 customers would be affected, he said.
"This is a time where insurance companies from Maine to Texas are looking at their risk and making sure they are able to manage that risk," Rickey said. "It's not something that starts today and ends tomorrow."
While coverage against wind and hail damage will be dropped, affected Alfa customers should still be able to insure their property against fire and other types of damage, Rickey said.
Rickey said there was no easy way to describe the areas where his company would stop writing wind policies, and that maps showing them are proprietary. Topography and population density were factored into the decision as were storm models, he said.
He did indicate, however, that it would affect homeowners on both sides of Mobile Bay and extend well off the beaches and bays into inland places like Foley.
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