Commissioner’s 16+ Approvals Worrying Forecast For North Carolinians As Profit-Maximizing Home Insurers Seek 70% Hike
RALEIGH, NC – North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey has a troubling track record of rubber-stamping home insurers rate increase requests, leaving homeowners across the state struggling with skyrocketing premiums. Now, the North Carolina Rate Bureau is proposing a staggering 68.3% average rate increase for dwelling insurance policies. This dramatic hike, one of the largest ever proposed in the state’s history, would devastate families already struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and an insurance market in freefall.
While he claims to oppose the plan, Unlocking America’s Future recent report, North Carolina’s Insurance Crisis: How Homeowners Pay More While Insurers And The Trump Administration Abandon Them After Disasters, revealed that Commissioner Causey has approved the last 16 increase requests since taking office, driving premiums up by 38% since 2019. The home insurance corporations operating in North Carolina have made nearly $100 billion over the last decade, all while claiming hardship from extreme weather events.
“North Carolina families are being squeezed from every direction, and Commissioner Causey has consistently sided with insurance companies over the people he’s supposed to protect,” said Kyle Herrig, spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future. “When you approve 16-straight rate increase requests, you’re not doing your job as a regulator. You’re acting as a rubber stamp for an industry that’s abandoning North Carolinians when they need coverage most.”
A Pattern of Approving Rate Hikes: Since 2019, North Carolina homeowners have experienced a 38% increase in insurance premium rates, with some insurers requesting rate increases of up to 99% in certain areas.
The crisis has been exacerbated by major insurers abandoning the North Carolina market entirely. This exodus has left thousands of homeowners scrambling for coverage in an increasingly expensive and unstable market. Many of the insurers who remain are exploiting a regulatory loophole known as the ‘250% consent law,’ where policyholders unknowingly consent to massive rate hikes by insurers because it’s buried in the fine print.
“As families work to rebuild from Hurricane Helene, they are discovering that their insurance commissioner has consistently prioritized industry profits over consumer protection,” said Herrig. “State legislators must act now to reform the rate approval process and ensure that regulators serve the public interest, not corporate bottom lines.”
Additional Background Resources:
ICYMI: North Carolina’s Escalating Home Insurance Crisis
North Carolina Families Face Crisis as Home Insurers Push 68% Rate Hike
Underinsurance Crisis Deepens as Rebuilding Costs Soar and Insurance Rates Skyrocket
