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North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long has approved an average 5.4 percent increase in homeowners insurance rates beginning May 1.

Long said the “increase is significantly lower than what companies originally asked for.”

He said that the rising cost of homes and, in particular, the escalating costs of repairing those homes have driven costs up across the board for property and casualty companies, contributing to the 5.4 percent average statewide increase.

Coastal properties continue to be at most risk and therefore suffer the highest increases, while new data show that areas such as the Triangle need increases in part due to risks such as ice storms, according to Long. But insurance department officials disagreed that companies needed the 31.9 percent which they originally discussed for this region before filing a lower 21.9 percent.

One standardized rate filing is made on behalf of all homeowners insurance companies by the North Carolina Rate Bureau, which represents all property and casualty companies in the state.

Source: North Carolina Department of Insurance
www.ncdoi.com