North Carolina home insurers seeking 42% rate increase
Author: Steve Hallo
Original Article here.
The North Carolina Rate Bureau, which administers P&C rates for the state, is seeking an average rate increase of 42.2% for homeowners insurance, according to the state’s department of insurance. The rate bureau and department of insurance are separate entities.
Approved rate changes will go into effect as soon as Aug. 1, 2024.
According to Mike Causey, North Carolina commissioner of insurance, coastal properties could see premium increases as high as 99%. Regions facing the highest proposed rate increases are the beach areas in Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender counties, insurance department documents indicate. Rate increases of 71.4% have been proposed for eastern coastal areas stretching across nearly 40 ZIP codes.
“Many North Carolina citizens have already told me how worried they are about the recent filing made by the N.C. Rate Bureau requesting an increase to homeowners’ insurance rates, and they’ve got good reason to be concerned,” Causey said in a release.
North Carolina law grants the insurance commissioner 50 days to review the rate proposal and determine if it meets actuarial standards. The insurance department held a public forum on Jan. 22, 2024, and is accepting written comments from the public until Feb. 2.
“During this 50-day review period, which expires on February 22, the Department’s actuaries, attorneys and consultants are working tirelessly to determine whether the rate bureau’s proposed increase is ‘excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory,’” Causey said. “If it is, I will call for a hearing on the matter and will fight for our consumers to ensure that any proposed increase is reasonable and actuarially sound.”
The last time the rate bureau submitted a home insurance rate filing was in November 2020. The bureau requested an average overall increase of 24.5%. Following negotiations with Causey, the final rate increase averaged out to 7.9%, according to the state insurance department.
