A proposed 22.6% average increase in automobile insurance rates in North Carolina will be the subject of a public hearing beginning Sept. 22, according to insurance commissioner Mike Causey.
The request, submitted in February by the North Carolina Rate Bureau, was initially denied by Causey, continuing his long-standing practice of rejecting initial rate hike proposals. The North Carolina Department of Insurance confirmed the hearing timeline in a recent statement.
Following the hearing’s conclusion, Causey will have 45 days to issue a ruling. However, the bureau and the department may reach a settlement at any point in the process, potentially ending the hearing early.
Lengthy hearings are not uncommon in North Carolina. A recent home insurance rate case lasted from October to December 2024 and ended with a compromise: a requested 42% increase was reduced to an average 7.5% hike.
The current auto insurance filing includes a proposed 75.8% increase for comprehensive physical damage coverage—the largest among the various coverage categories. A 3.7% increase is sought for collision coverage, while a 9% rate reduction is proposed for motorcycle policies.
Several factors are contributing to rising auto insurance costs in the state, including higher vehicle replacement costs, more complex repair requirements due to advanced vehicle technology, and a surge in litigated claims.
“Another factor is the losses incurred for nearly 23,000 totaled vehicles from the devastating flooding caused by Hurricane Helene last autumn,” said Mark Friedlander, senior director of media relations at the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I).
Efforts to obtain comment from the North Carolina Rate Bureau were unsuccessful.
According to BestLink, the five largest writers of private passenger auto insurance in North Carolina in 2023 were Allstate Insurance Group (18.8%), State Farm Group (14.9%), Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group (12.82%), Progressive Insurance Group (11.68%), and North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance Group (9.95%).
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