Judge OKs lower insurance-rate rises

Some counties in area will actually have rates lowered by 1.2 percent

By: Richard Craver | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: May 01, 2009

Homeowners in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina will face a smaller increase on their insurance rates, if not a slight decline, beginning today.

For example, the rate increase for homeowners living in Winston-Salem and Greensboro will be 3 percent, according to the N.C. Insurance Department.

However, for Triad homeowners with a second or vacation home at the coast, that insurance rate has gone up by a range of 17.5 percent to 29.8 percent.

The latest changes to the state's homeowners insurance rates were settled Wednesday when a Wake County Superior Court judge dismissed an effort to stop a deal negotiated in December between insurance companies and state regulators from taking effect.

The N.C. Rate Bureau, an independent group representing insurers writing policies in North Carolina, typically asks for rate increases each year, some substantially higher in areas prone to damage from natural disasters.

The state's insurance commissioner seldom agrees to the bureau's request, but instead typically approves a lower increase or a decrease for each of the state's 18 territories as measured by risk.

For example, the bureau asked for a 13 percent increase for Winston-Salem and Greensboro, which was rejected by the late Jim Long, who was the state's insurance commissioner at that time.

The difference between a 3 percent and 13 percent increase is about $55 for a homeowner in Winston-Salem and Greensboro with a house valued at $150,000.

For homeowners in Alamance, Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph and Yadkin counties, the rate increase is 2 percent rather than 11.2 percent -- an average difference of $53 on a $150,000 house.

Homeowners in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Davie, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Watauga and Wilkes counties will experience a 1.2 percent rate decrease rather than the requested 9.2 percent -- an average savings of $52 on a $150,000 house.

However, the insurance rate is rising either 17.5 percent or 29.8 percent on homes in Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender counties, along with 22 percent in Currituck, Dare, Hyde and Pamlico counties.

The bureau had requested rates that were up to five times higher in those counties.

"This is an issue that effects everybody in North Carolina, not just the folks who see an increase or see no change" in insurance premiums, said Kristin Milam, a spokeswoman for the insurance department.

The rate changes include policies written by both private insurance companies and the Beach Plan, the state's property insurance provider for coastal properties.

■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.

■ The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Declining rates

Homeowners in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina will experience a smaller increase, or a slight decrease, in their insurance rates. The example is based on a home valued at $150,000.

Territory - Requested percent - Ordered percent - Ordered rate

Greensboro, Winston-Salem - 13 percent - 3 percent - $562

Alamance, Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Yadkin - 11.2 percent - 2 percent - $560

Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Davie, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Watauga, Wilkes - 9.2 percent - 1.2 percent decrease - $480

Source: N.C. Insurance Department