North Carolina Rate Bureau Wants 42% Hike in Residential Property Insurance Rates
The North Carolina Rate Bureau, basing its calculations on input from 197 property insurance companies, has asked for a 42% average increase in homeowners insurance rates, to take effect Aug. 1.
The rate bureau’s double-digit requests in recent years have usually been greatly reduced after negotiations with the state’s insurance commissioner. After a 2020 requested increase of 24.5%, for example, the final rate ended up at 7.9%, Commissioner Mike Causey’s office said in a statement.
The rate bureau’s filing shows that rate increases would vary by territory, by type of coverage and by type of structure. Homeowner policy rates would rise by 42.4%; tenants by 34.3%; and conominium units by 44.6%.
The need for the increase is based on insurers’ loss costs for 2017 through 2021; expense ratio trends, and the cost of reinsurance, the filing indicates.