N.C. insurance commissioner rejects mobile home insurance rate increase, sets hearing date

Posted on by Mike Fuhrman

Special to Iredell Free News

RALEIGH — North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey has set April 7, 2025, as the hearing date for a proposed increase in mobile homeowners’ insurance rates requested by the North Carolina Rate Bureau.

The Rate Bureau, which represents insurance companies and is not a part of the N.C. Department of Insurance, has requested an overall state average increase of 82.9% for mobile home fire policies (MH-F) over a three-year period. The insurance companies have requested an overall state average increase of 49.9% for mobile home casualty policies (MH-C) over a three-year period.

“We are not in agreement with the insurance companies’ proposed increases,” Causey said. “It is now necessary to hold a hearing to reach a resolution that will make the most financial sense for our residents and insurance companies.”

The Rate Bureau filed the increase on April 8. State law requires the Commissioner to set a hearing date if he does not accept the insurance companies’ proposal.

The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. April 7, 2025, in the Second Floor Hearing Room at the Department of Insurance, 3200 Beechleaf Court, Raleigh.

The hearing will be held unless the Department of Insurance and the Rate Bureau are able to negotiate a settlement before that date. State law gives the Insurance Commissioner 45 days to issue an order once the hearing concludes. Once the order is issued, the NCRB has the right to appeal the decision to the N.C. Court of Appeals. A Court of Appeals order could then be appealed to the N.C. Supreme Court.

The NCRB and DOI can settle the proposed rate increase at any time during litigation.

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 November 1 of each year.

The last NCRB mobile home rate increase filing was in 2022, and resulted in a settlement of 10% for MH-C, and a settlement of 15% for MH-F, both taking effect August 1, 2023.