North Carolina Auto Insurers Request 7.6% Rate Increase

The annual auto insurance filing from the North Carolina Rate Bureau to the North Carolina Department of Insurance calls for an overall statewide average increase of 7.6 percent, according to a statement from Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey.

The NCRB represents the state’s insurance companies and is a separate entity from the N.C. Department of Insurance.

By law, the NCRB must submit auto rate filings with the Department every year by February 1.

The 1,196-page rate filing submitted by NCRB with a proposed effective date of Oct. 1, 2019, will be reviewed by NCDOI and if it does not agree with the need for the requested rates, it can negotiate a settlement or call for a hearing.

In 2017, the NCRB requested a 13.8 percent increase citing a “dramatic increase in [auto] losses and the cost of those losses since 2014,” but a settlement was reached for a 2.2 percent increase – which NCDOI said saved consumers more than $1 billion. The settlement also included an agreement the NCRB would not make a filing in 2018.

Source: North Carolina Department of Insurance