Homeowners in Buncombe and Henderson counties should pay 21% more to insure homes, according to insurance companies that have submitted the rate request increase to the state’s top regulator.
North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey said he will decide before Feb. 22 whether to accept the proposed rate increases by insurers or negotiate for a reduced rate, as he has done three times prior. If Causey agrees to the rate hikes, the increases will go into effect in the summer.
A standard homeowners insurance policy covers repair or replacement of a home and its contents for losses caused by things such as fire, smoke, theft or a weather event, including hail or a falling tree branch.
The increase request varies across the state, averaging 42.2%. The highest rise would be 99.4% for properties in the beach areas of Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender counties.
The lowest proposed rate increases are for parts of Western North Carolina − Haywood, Madison, Swain and Transylvania counties − at 4.3%.