North Carolina to Hear Homeowners Increase

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has scheduled a hearing on August 6 in Raleigh on insurers’ request to raise homeowners insurance rates an average of 25.3 percent.

Goodwin said the proposed rates appear to the Department of Insurance to be “excessive and unfairly discriminatory.”

The insurance companies, represented by the North Carolina Rate Bureau, requested an overall statewide average increase in rates, varying by geographic territory, on Jan. 3, 2014.

The hearing is open to the public; however, there will be no opportunity for members of the public to speak at the hearing. Experts from the Rate Bureau and from Goodwin’s office will present their cases for or against rate changes.

Goodwin’s job is to serve as the hearing officer and determine what, if any, rate adjustments are warranted.

The department said it has received more than 10,000 comments from the public on the rate proposal.

Insurance department actuaries believe the requested rate increases are not justified, according to the department’s press release. They say the filing used old and hypothetical data to justify the increases.