Thread: North Carolina Department of Insurance

North Carolina Department of Insurance

Senate Bill 901 and House Bill 1430

Thank you for your interest in and concerns about Senate Bill 901 and House Bill 1430. The provisions outlined in this bill eliminate my authority to set the rates for your homeowners and auto insurance; basically, insurance companies will be able to file the rates they wish to charge consumers, and they will be almost guaranteed to get those rates approved. For example, take the 2006 auto insurance settlement: the industry filed for a 6.7 percent rate increase, but we arrived at a 2.9 percent decrease, which equated to an average savings of $7 million per Senate District. If this pro-industry legislation is approved, the negotiation process will not occur and consumers in North Carolina will be forced to pay higher insurance premiums.

Currently, our state has the 5th lowest auto insurance rates and the 20th lowest homeowners rates in the country. I encourage you to join the fight to keep our insurance rates low by letting your State Senator and Representative know they should vote against Senate Bill 901 and House Bill 1430. If you need to locate the name and contact information for your senator or representative, go to www.ncleg.net/GIS/Representation/. To learn more about this legislation, follow the links below to read media coverage on the issue from across the state.

Sincerely,
Jim Long, Insurance Commissioner

More:
http://www.ncdoi.com/901.asp

Another attempt to disconnect citizens, via their elected representatives, from keeping big business in line.

W