Companies ask for more to insure mobile homes

Insurance companies have kept my staff and me busy this year. You may remember that the state's insurance companies asked for a homeowners' insurance increase of 42.2 percent back in January. They'd previously requested an average 50.6 percent rate increase in dwelling policies.

A few days ago the North Carolina Rate Bureau which represents insurers that write insurance in the state and is not a part of the Department of Insurance, delivered a request to increase mobile home insurance premiums. They're seeking an 82.9 percent increase in mobile home fire premiums over a three-year period and a 49.9 percent increase in mobile home casualty premiums over the same period. The two programs are similar. However, the mobile home fire program covers a broader range of perils. Unlike standard homeowners' programs, both the mobile home fire and mobile home casualty programs include flood coverage. There are about 148, 000 mobile home insurance policyholders in North Carolina.

State law specifies how requests for increased premiums are to be handled. We're at the very beginning of that process. North Carolina's process is different from other states. In other states, insurance companies file for rate changes individually. In our state, the Rate Bureau files rate requests on behalf of all the insurance companies writing property and casualty insurance in the state. Now that the Rate Bureau has made its request, we have entered the public comment period. If you wish to comment on the proposal you may do so in one of two ways: You may email: [email protected]. or write by sending your letter to: Kimberiy Pearce, 1201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1201.

Make sure you send your comment to us by April 30. All comments will be shared with the Rate Bureau.

The law gives me 50 days from the date the request was filed to make a decision on the request. That means I have to say "yes" or "no" by May 28. If I reject the request I'm required to set a hearing date on the proposal.

After the hearing concludes, I'll have 45 days to issue a ruling. The Rate Bureau would then have to decide whether to accept the ruling or appeal to the N.C. Court of Appeals. Any decision by the Court of Appeals could be appealed to the N.C. Supreme Court. Of course it's always possible that we could reach a settlement at any step along the way. I have two major roles when it comes to proposed insurance rate increases: · To provide for a fair premium for North Carolina consumers. · To encourage a robust insurance market so North Carolinians can have choices in insurance products and to make sure insurance companies are solvent so they can play their claims. I take those roles seriously.