North Carolina Homeowners’ Insurance Rate Case Starts Hearing, Insurers Want a 42% Hike on Premiums

North Carolina on Monday began a hearing on a request from the state's insurance industry to hike homeowner premium rates by more than 40% on average, just days after Hurricane Helene tore through the area.

The hearing is expected to last multiple weeks, and witnesses, evidence, and arguments for the state Insurance Department and the North Carolina Rate Bureau, representing the insurance companies requesting premium hikes, will be called on.

When the hearing closes, the officer will consult with Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey to decide whether the requested increases are excessive. If so, they must issue an order to set new rates. The decision should be made within 45 days from the closing of the hearing, per ABC News.

The hearing will take place after Causey rejects the request in February. Early voting is expected to begin on Oct. 17.

How Much Are Premiums Increasing?

On average, North Carolina insurance companies seek to increase homeowners' premiums statewide by 42.2%. However, some zip codes would see lower or higher increases.

In big cities like Raleigh, Charlotte, and Greensboro, the increase ranges from 36% to 41%. In some mountain areas, the requested increase is only about 4%. But in beach areas such as Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, and Pender, the proposed increase is 99.4%, according to over 2,000 pages of data filed last January by the Rate Bureau.

North Carolina last allowed for a 7.9% statewide increase in the average premium rate in early 2022. At the time, the bureau sought to hike premiums by 24.5%.

Hurricane Helene

The hearing comes nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene tore through North Carolina. The damage varies, but some towns like the Chimney Rock Village were nearly wiped off the map by the storm.

The damage caused by Helene was unprecedented, much like that of Hurricane Florence in 2018 which caused billions of dollars in damage in the state's eastern region. Most of those damages were paid for by insurers.

Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 hurricane, is also on track to hit Florida on a path experts said would mostly miss North Carolina.