NC Rate Bureau requests rate increase of up to 83% for mobile home insurance

After requesting an average rate hike of 42% in homeowners’ insurance rates in January, now comes word that the North Carolina Rate Bureau (NCRB) wants to raise mobile home fire policies (MH-F) an average of 83% and 50% for casualty policies (MH-C). Both proposed rate hikes would be spread out over a three-year period, according to a press release from the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI).

NCRB is not part of the NCDOI.

“The N.C. Department of Insurance has received the filing from the Rate Bureau,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. “We are in the process of reviewing the filing, according to state law.”

The MH-F increase request is 24.9% for 2024, 21.2% for 2025, and 20.9% for 2026. The MH-C increase request is 15.9% for 2024, 13.9% for 2025 and 13.5% for 2026. The Rate Bureau requests that the increases take effect on Nov. 1 of each year.

The proposed increases would affect approximately 148,000 policyholders in North Carolina.

Unlike standard homeowners’ programs, the MH-F and MH-C programs include flood coverage. The two programs are similar. However, the MH-F program provides coverage for a broader range of perils.

In addition to homeowners’ and mobile home insurance, auto insurance in the state is expected to rise an average of 4.3% this year, according to a report by ValuePenguin.com.

An Oct. 7 court hearing date has already been set for the NCRB’s request to massively raise homeowners’ insurance premiums after Commissioner Mike Causey rejected the request. Although the average increase would be approximately 42%, individual plan rate increases would range from as little as 4% in the mountains to over 99% at the coast.

“The Department of Insurance and I have received over 25,000 letters and emails and phone calls from people, and I know a lot of the other Council of State members have been hearing about it,” Causey said at the February Council of State meeting. “I’ve received letters from the legislature and the congressional delegation, and out of all of those 25,000 comments, almost nobody was in favor of their insurance company asking for an increase.”

The public can comment on the insurance companies’ mobile home insurance proposals in two ways:

• Emailed comments should be sent by April 30 to [email protected]
• Written public comments should be mailed by April 30 to Kimberly Pearce, 1201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1201.

All public comments will be shared with the Rate Bureau.

The post NC Rate Bureau requests rate increase of up to 83% for mobile home insurance first appeared on Carolina Journal.