Homeowners’ insurance rates going up Sunday, with some Cape Fear areas seeing a 10% spike

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Homeowners in the Cape Fear should be prepared for an insurance rate spike over the weekend.

On January 17, 2025, Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced the end of a legal dispute between the N.C. Department of Insurance and insurance companies about their proposed homeowners’ insurance rate increase filed in January 2024.

The N.C. Rate Bureau originally requested an average 42.2% increase last year, with proposed increases of up to 99.4% in some areas, like the eastern coastal areas of Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender Counties.

Under the agreement signed by Commissioner Causey and the Rate Bureau, the average statewide base rate will increase by 7.5% on June 1, 2025, and 7.5% on June 1, 2026.

You can see your insurance rate bump here, with those eastern coastal areas of Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender Counties seeing an increase of 10.5%.

The Rate Bureau is not a part of the Department of Insurance and represents homeowners’ insurance companies in North Carolina.

“The insurance companies wanted to raise our homeowners’ rates up to 99.4% in some areas and an average 42.2% statewide in a single year,” Commissioner Causey said back in January. “I fought for consumers and knocked them back to 7.5% increases over two years with a maximum of 35% in any territory. We consider this settlement a big win for both homeowners and North Carolina.”

In addition, the agreement prohibits the Rate Bureau from undertaking an effort to increase rates again before June 1, 2027.

“North Carolina homeowners will save approximately $777 million in insurance premiums over the next two years compared to what the insurance companies requested. This also protects homeowners from future base rate increase requests until June 2027,” said Commissioner Causey. “These rates are sufficient to make sure that insurance companies, who have paid out large sums due to natural disasters and face increasing reinsurance costs due to national catastrophes, have adequate funds on hand to pay claims.