North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey has scheduled a hearing for October 16 in Raleigh on the N.C. Rate Bureau’s proposed auto insurance rate increase that averages 28.4 percent statewide.
“We are not in agreement with the Rate Bureau’s proposed increases filed on Feb. 1. The next step, according to statute, is to set a hearing date,” Causey said. “The purpose of the hearing is to reach a resolution that will make the most financial sense for both North Carolina residents and insurance companies.”
The N.C. Rate Bureau represents the auto insurance companies in the state and is not a part of the N.C. Department of Insurance. By law, the bureau must submit auto rate filings with the department every year by February 1.
The average cost of car insurance in North Carolina is $1,392 per year for full coverage and $431 per year for minimum coverage, according to Bankrate’s 2022 study of quoted annual premiums from Quadrant Information Services.
The filing made in February includes a statewide average liability insurance rate level increase of 31.4 percent for non-fleet private passenger automobiles, a statewide average physical damage insurance rate level increase of 25.5 percent for non-fleet private passenger automobiles, and a statewide average liability insurance rate level increase of 4.7 percent for motorcycles.
The state is divided into 34 rate territories, with northeastern North Carolina split into a pair of separate territories.
The requested rate increases for territory 110 (Dare, Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank counties) are 28.6 percent for 30/60 bodily injury, 42.9 percent for $25,000 property damage, 36.9 percent for 30/60/25 combined, 20.8 percent for full coverage comprehensive and 18.9 percent for $100 deductible collision. $500 medical pay would drop by 13.3 percent.
In territory 120 (Perquimans, Chowan, Tyrrell, Gates, Bertie, Hertford counties) the proposed increases are 17.2 percent for 30/60 bodily injury, 44.6 percent for $25,000 property damage, 31.3 percent for 30/60/25 combined, 13.7 percent for full coverage comprehensive and 21.6 percent for $100 deductible collision. $500 medical pay would decrease 10.5 percent.
The October 16 hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in the Jim Long Hearing Room in the Albemarle Building, 325 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, unless the N.C. Department of Insurance and the N.C. Rate Bureau are able to negotiate a settlement before that date.
State law gives the insurance commissioner 45 days to issue an order once the hearing concludes. Once the order is issued, the NCRB has the right to appeal the decision before the N.C. Court of Appeals. A court of appeals order could then be appealed to the N.C. Supreme Court.
The NCRB and DOI can settle the proposed rate increase at any time during litigation.