GREENSBORO, N.C. — The North Carolina Rate Bureau has requested to increase auto insurance rates by 28.4%.
The rate filing was submitted yesterday to insurance commissioner mike causey.
The increase would impact private passenger car insurance rates across the state and would go into effect around October 1st of this year.
It's no secret that prices are on the rise.. eggs.. gas… well now there's a request to raise car insurance by 28.4%.
I know, I know.. that can seem like a shocking number.
Just because it was requested, doesn’t mean it’ll happen.
"It’s just crazy and the price just keeps going up. People just can’t afford that," Jack Farrar, a driver in Greensboro said.
Drivers clearly aren't happy. Would you be?
"That is a very high price to put on people right now when money is scarce," Oman said as he was filling up his gas tank.
After the NC rate bureau requested a 28.4% car insurance increase.
"Things are getting crazy all over the world food gas insurance everything closes everything is getting really crazy so trying to reduce not raise it," driver, Eiman Maki said.
Don’t panic just yet.. this isn’t set in stone.
"It’s just a request that that is all that is it’s just a number that they believe is what they see is justified based on their experience," Insurance Commissioner, Mike Causey said.
The North Carolina Rate Bureau represents the auto insurance companies in our state. According to the law, rate fillings have to be submitted no later than February 1st every year.
Causey said this was a legislature set up decades ago that requires a rate set by the bureau system.
"The past three years they’ve submitted requests from essentially no rate increases," Causey continued.
Now the request is in the hands of causey who can either agree with the 28.4% rate increase or deny it.
"I’ve always said no to past rate requests and set the court date and the hearing date, but we’ve never had to go to court because we’ve been able to negotiate a settlement with the insurance industry. That’s been very favorable to consumers," Causey said.
Causey says there are several factors that impact rate increases including distracted driving, speeding, driving while impaired and drivers not wearing seatbelts.
"Obviously, a 25% rate increase request looks scary but I’m not sure that it’s actually as scary as it may look," Christoper Cook, Alliance Insurance owner said.
Cook says he believes the department of insurance will continue to act in the best interest of the citizens just like they’ve done in years past.
"In general, insurance rates are going to go up in the last five years with netted less than a 5% rate increase of all the fixed costs that we have in our individual budget," Cook continued.
These increases are important for a healthy economy.
However, that doesn’t mean any sort of increase won't impact drivers in some way.
"Tell them don’t raise the insurance rates because we just can’t afford it," Jack said.
"It's either eggs or gas and I need to go because I’m older and I have people that are in my home but have to go to the doctor and get medicine and you just can’t afford it. It just doesn’t make sense," Jack continued.
Causey says our state is among the top ten in the country with the lowest insurance rates.