Owners of rental and second homes in North Carolina saw dwelling insurance rates rise by an average of 5% on October 1, and a second average 5% increase is set for October 1, 2027. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey negotiated both steps, which replace the 68.3% increase over two years that insurers requested.
What the settlement set and what insurers wanted
Causey’s office settled the dwelling rate case at an average statewide increase of 5% per year over two years, according to the Department of Insurance. The first 5% took effect Oct. 1, 2026. The second takes effect Oct. 1, 2027.
The N.C. Rate Bureau, which represents property and casualty insurers and is not part of the Department, had asked for 68.3% over two years. It filed on Oct. 30, 2025. The request called for an average 28.5% on July 1, 2026 and an average 30.9% on July 1, 2027.
The settlement also moves each step later than the Rate Bureau proposed. The insurers wanted their first increase on July 1, 2026 and their second on July 1, 2027. Both are now three months later, on October 1 of each year.
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Dwelling policies are not homeowners policies. They generally cover residences of up to four units that are not the owner’s primary home, such as rental properties, investment properties and second homes. The percentages are statewide averages that vary by territory, and the releases do not publish territory figures, so the quickest check is the next renewal notice.
If both averages applied to one premium, two 5% steps would compound to about 10.25%. A $1,500 dwelling premium would become $1,575 after October 2026 and about $1,654 after October 2027. Actual premiums depend on the territory, the insurer and the property.
The $268 million Causey says the deal saves
Causey said the settlement will “save North Carolina consumers more than $268 million over what the insurance companies requested.” The figure compares the deal with the insurers’ request. It does not measure savings against what policyholders were paying before October. Causey’s office announced the estimate on April 22, the same day it announced the settlement itself.
Last December, Causey told the public that the Department was “not in agreement with the Rate Bureau’s proposed increases filed earlier this fall,” and called a hearing for May 4. The Department later rescheduled it to July 6 to finish settlement details. After the April 22 settlement, the July 6 hearing was no longer needed and was canceled.
The Rate Bureau’s filing covers fire and extended coverage. Comments from the public were due by Nov. 19, and the Department said it would negotiate if it disagreed with the requested rates. If no settlement was reached within 50 days, a hearing would be called.
The Department’s December notice said most consumers would have seen a double-digit increase under the Rate Bureau’s filing. A 5% average step is well below that, but it is still a premium that rises two years running, and the percentage is only an average across the state.
There is precedent for a smaller outcome than the opening request. In July 2023 the Rate Bureau asked for an average 50.6% on dwelling policies. The two sides settled on an average 8% increase, effective Nov. 1, 2024. This round ended at 5% a year against a 68.3% request.
Credits for fortified homes and roofs
The settlement includes mitigation credits for owners who install fortified homes and roofs, intended to help properties withstand high winds in many eastern North Carolina territories. Causey said he was “delighted that many property owners who invest in fortified homes and roofs” will be able to save on premiums.
The release does not put a dollar figure on the credits. Owners who are replacing a roof on a rental house or a coastal second home can ask their insurer or agent what the credit requires and how much it takes off the premium before the work is scheduled. The release does not say how an owner applies for them.
The Department’s insurance rates page, which lists the dwelling releases in order, shows no later action after the April 22 settlement. The posted items run from the November 2025 request to the April 13 hearing change and the April 22 agreement. There is no listing of a delay or appeal.
The October 2027 step is about eleven months out
For a retiree who rents out a second house or holds an inherited property, the two steps are a predictable line in the budget through 2027. The Department’s page on insurance rates is where any later change would be posted.
The first increase is already on policies. The second is set, and it is an average, so the real number will arrive on a renewal notice. The open question for an owner is how the next 5% fits with property taxes, repairs and everything else the property costs.
Budgeting for the October 2027 increase on a rental house?
A second 5% step on October 1, 2027 arrives on top of a premium that already rose in October. Owners who miss how the increases stack can underprice a rental or underbudget a second home for a full year.
This story is about one insurance bill, but the larger question is the household’s other costs, which is the job The Benefits Checklist finishes. It scans 11 benefit programs retirees most often miss, with the 2026 income limits, a 50-state phone directory and a printable application tracker for the programs that fit.
Scan 11 programs for an owner’s rising costs with The Benefits Checklist →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
