Residents of the state are becoming frustrated and angry about the spike of up to 25 percent.
As the cost of North Carolina homeowners insurance comes closer to its August increase of an average of 25 percent, residents are keeping a careful watch on the regulator in the state, which held a public hearing on Friday to give these customers the opportunity to voice their opinions on the prospect that they will be seeing their premiums skyrocket this year.
The hearing fell three weeks after the insurers in the state put their rate change requests forward.
The changes in rates that were requested at the start of the year by the North Carolina homeowners insurance companies ranged from a decrease of nearly 3 percent (for homes that weren’t located near the ocean, such as in New Hanover, Carteret, Brunswick, Pender, and Onslow counties), to increases along and near the coastline and beaches that are as high as35 percent.
The North Carolina homeowners insurance rate changes would need to be approved by the commissioner.
Wayne Goodwin, the state Insurance Commissioner would be required to give his approval to the changes that have been requested, before it will be possible for them to become effective. That said, he first gave residents of the state the opportunity to express their outrage regarding the sheer magnitude of the rate increase that has been requested.
This is particularly frustrating to NC residents as they just finished experiencing another increase in their coverage last July, which rose by an average of 7 percent at that time.
Insurers have explained that they are attempting to catch up on having used “inadequate” pricing for decades, while they are simultaneously trying to anticipate the size of the payments that will be making through 2016 and into the future.
Even before the public hearing was held, there had already been over 3,000 written comments sent to the state’s Insurance Department, containing opinions of residents regarding the changes to the North Carolina homeowners insurance rates. The comments will still be received from the department right through the end of the month, so policyholders still have some time to give their two cents on the matter before January 31.
