Insurers in North Carolina are hopeful that the industry in the state will undergo alterations.
The North Carolina auto insurance industry is currently divided between the companies that would like things to remain the same as they are now, and those that are hoping to give next year another try for changing the state’s unique regulatory system in order to be able to alter the rates.
At the moment the state has some of the cheapest rates in the entire country.
The industry will be arguing that the reason that the average auto insurance costs are as low as they are in the state is because the drivers that are associated with the lowest risk are actually paying more money than they should. Other than Maine, North Carolina currently has the cheapest premiums on the East Coast, as of 2010. This is the most recent year that a complete consumer cost information analysis was performed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
This includes a combination of collision, comprehensive, and liability auto insurance coverage. According to data just released from NAIC, when compared to all other states, it is the eight lowest, behind Maine, Idaho, and five other states in the Midwest. The most recent national average was $907. The only state that is approximately equal in size but that had rates that were superior was Ohio, where drivers paid an average of $699.
According to the official report, the average auto insurance premium dropped by 3 percent over the last five years (starting in 2006). A more recent, but less extensive, estimate has indicated that 2012’s figures may prove that North Carolina currently has the fifth lowest premiums in the country.
It is also likely that it will become more lucrative for auto insurance companies to operate in the state, depending on the ability of the insurers to compete, according to the vice president of the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina, Stuart Powell.
At the same time, though, certain auto insurance companies in the state, led by Allstate, Progressive, State Farm, and Geico, are hoping that they will be able to encourage the overhaul of the system in the state that regulates the rates for the almost 7 million personal vehicles that are insured there.