North Carolina to Hear Dwelling Fire Rate Hike

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has called for a June 21 public hearing on a proposed 20.9 percent rate increase in dwelling fire and extended coverage rates after the Department of Insurance ruled that some portions of the filing were not justified.

The call for the public rate hearing came weeks after officials said more than 800 policyholders offered comments criticizing the rate increase.

The industry’s North Carolina Rate Bureau submitted the rate filing on Jan. 4 on behalf of insurers. The filing covers dwelling fire policies that are offered to homeowners whose properties don’t meet the requirements to qualify for a standard policy. Extended coverage policies cover perils that extend beyond fire and lightning including content coverage, physical damage to the property due to sprinkler leakage, wind, hail, vandalism and aircraft and vehicle damage. Typically, these policies represent a small fraction of the state’s total property exposure.

The industry is actually calling for a decrease in fire policies of an average 6.6 percent. However, the decrease is more than offset by the proposed increase for extended coverage of an average 110.3 percent. Combined, the statewide average change would be 20.9 percent.