Issue splitting insurance commissioner candidates: rate hikes Insurance commissioner candidates weigh in on rate hikes, hiring controversy

Age: 74

Job: N.C. Commissioner of Insurance

Education: BS Business Administration; AAS Civil Engineering Technology

Political/civic involvement: Insurance commissioner since 2017, National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), State Employees Association of NC, Keep NC Beautiful, Guilford County Agricultural Advisory Board, Guilford County Environmental Review Board, Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, Ruritan Club, Masonic Lodge

Top priority if elected: Keep insurance low as possible for consumers while maintaining a healthy, viable and stable insurance market. Fight insurance fraud to protect consumers. Support volunteer fire departments, rescue squads and first responders.

Age: 55

Job: Former attorney at Brooks Pierce Law Firm; clerked for federal judge in Greensboro; served in a development role at the Ada Jenkins Center, a community service center fostering financial independence in the North Mecklenburg area.

Education: Hamilton College, BA in Public Policy ('91), Duke University School of Law, JD ('94)

Political/civic involvement: State senator since 2019; serving or have served on Commerce & Insurance, Judiciary, Redistricting & Elections, Budget, Justice & Public Safety Approps, and Education committees. I've done community work for the past 20+ years, including Moral Monday protests, gun violence prevention, Habitat for Humanity builds, marches in support of women's rights, volunteering at the local free health clinic, fostering homeless cats and kittens, and organizing voter registration drives.

Top priority if elected: Ending the excessive insurance rate hikes. The incumbent Commissioner Mike Causey has already approved an unprecedented 16 insurance rate increases, allowing insurers to make excessive profits on the backs of North Carolinians. More at NatashaMarcus.com

Republican Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey is seeking a third term in the job against opponent state Sen. Natasha Marcus, an attorney who represents part of the Charlotte area.

The election comes as Causey is opposing a request from the insurance companies to raise property insurance rates by an average of 42% statewide.

Causey, who lives in Greensboro, said in a statement in February that he had not "seen the evidence to justify such a drastic rate increase" while also calling the request "excessive and unfairly discriminatory."

The dispute over the rates resulted in hearings this month. The commissioner has 45 days from the end of the hearing to issue an order regarding rates.

Marcus has criticized Causey for his history of supporting rate hikes. The commissioner has approved 16 rate increases in his time in office, according to the News & Observer.

She has said she will be a stronger and more transparent advocate for consumers than Causey.

Causey has also faced scrutiny over hiring practices in the department.

A series of News & Observer articles published in 2023 and earlier this year said Causey had hired friends and political supporters to positions within the department.

John Woodard, a former employee of the department who was employed to value properties around the state, told the News & Observer he felt the job was "make work." Woodward was fired from the position in July 2023.

Earlier the year, the paper reported that Roger Blackwell, a friend of Causey's, had been designated as a deputy secretary/commissioner I and paid as much as $84,000 a year for a job that consisted primarily of serving as a part-time driver.

The department ultimately determined Blackwell was misclassified, according to the News & Observer reporting.

When asked about the allegations, Causey said he and Blackwell had been friendly over the years and had supported one another in their political campaigns but that they were not the closest of friends.

Causey also said he was not in charge of Blackwell's job classification and that it was the temp agency Temporary Solutions and the department's human resources department which determined that.

"Anything related to this title, his pay scale or any of that is totally up to Temporary Solutions and human resources, not the commissioner," Causey said.

He added that Blackwell had cut back his hours following the news reports.

He described Woodard as a "disgruntled employee probably making false statements to make the commissioner look bad." Causey said he became aware that Woodard was not fulfilling job responsibilities a few years into Woodard's time with the department.

As for their relationship, Causey described Woodard as an acquaintance. He recalled meeting Woodward once at a political events and said Woodard may have made some small donations to his campaign.

Marcus criticized Causey over the hiring practices, saying in a statement that he used his position "to boost his personal brand and enrich his buddies."

Both Causey and Marcus responded to questionnaires asking about their approach to rate requests, what qualifications make them the best person for the job and what they see as the greatest differences between them:

Mike Causey

How will you handle insurance industry requests for higher rates?

By following state law as required and standing strong for consumers.

What experiences and qualifications make you the best person to lead the department?

Experience with insurance issues for over 30 years and 8 years as elected insurance commissioner working in a nonpartisan manner to protect consumers.

What do you see as the most significant difference between you and your opponent?

I'm a consumer advocate with insurance experience not a trial lawyer.

Natasha Marcus

How will you handle insurance industry requests for higher rates?

I will restore the practice of holding public hearings to ensure North Carolinians don't pay one penny more for insurance than is justified.

The commissioner of insurance is expected to be the people's advocate and evaluate insurance rate hike requests in a public hearing setting. It's a regulated market and every insurance commissioner since 1977 held public hearings on rate increase requests except one: Mike Causey.

As commissioner, I will restore accountability and give the people the input and advocacy they deserve by requiring insurance companies to justify their rate hike requests with data, presented under oath and subject to cross-examination by expert DOI staff in a court-like setting.

The public deserves to know how much profit insurance companies are making in our state and to have an insurance commissioner who will deny rate increases that are unjustified or excessive. It's not enough for Causey to deny the initial rate hike request, then agree to a private deal to raise rates later.

Once every four years, North Carolina voters have the ability to elect a single person to represent them in this job and they deserve to have a commissioner who will work for them, not for the insurance companies. You can learn more about how Mike Causey's rate hikes have affected your community at RateHikeMike.com

What experiences and qualifications make you the best person to lead the department?

Unlike my opponent, my work experience is representing the people's best interest as an attorney and a senator.

I'm experienced in courtroom-like settings such as public rate increase hearings, and in the state government, as a 6-year member of the NC Senate, serving on several committees including Commerce & Insurance.

I have a good working relationship with many of the key leaders in our state, including the governor, attorney general and other members of the Council of State.

In the 8 years he's been insurance commissioner, Mike Causey has approved an unprecedented 16 rate hikes and enabled and embraced the Consent to Rate loophole, allowing insurance companies to bill NC consumers 250 percent more than the max rate for their auto and homeowners' insurance!

This is a significant expense for family budgets. He approved all these hikes without holding a single public hearing - no data to justify the increases, no testimony under oath, and no cross-examination.

Instead, Causey meets with insurers in private, then announces yet another rate increase. He embraces CTR because it's what insurance companies want, even though it means about 45% of policyholders pay more than the maximum rate allowed under state law!

I'll end the rate racket and restore transparency and accountability to the process. I'll hold public hearings and deny rate increases that are not justified by data.

As a former litigation attorney, I'm experienced in the courtroom-like setting of public hearings, unlike my opponent who never holds hearings.

What do you see as the most significant difference between you and your opponent?

Unlike my opponent, I don't accept campaign contributions from corporate insurance PACs or their executives and did not build my career working for them.

Causey has accepted more than $250,000 from insurance industry sources - curious given that he is supposed to work for the people, in opposition to the insurance industry's ever-present push to earn higher profits off the backs of North Carolinians.

He was elected to work for us, but instead he's cozy with insurance companies, defending their record profits and overuse of CTR. This isn't surprising, given his history as a lobbyist and an insurance company employee.

I'm free of entanglements with insurance companies, having never worked or lobbied for them and having refused any campaign donations from them. You can learn more about my experience, endorsements, and priorities at NatashaMarcus.com.

kevin.griffin@greensboro.com