North Carolina Senate Bill Would Create Citizens Property Insurance Board To Make Recommendations on North Carolina Rate Bureau Rates
Apr 3, 2011
A bill filed in the North Carolina Senate on March 22, 2011 would create the “North Carolina Citizens Property Insurance Board” for the purpose of reviewing, investigating and making appropriate recommendations to the North Carolina Insurance Commissioner with respect to the reasonableness and consistency of rates charged or filed by the North Carolina Rate Bureau (“Bureau”).
Sponsored by Senator Thom Goolsby, SB 395 is intended to provide public input and accountability in North Carolina’s insurance rate setting process. Currently, the Bureau negotiates rates directly with the State’s Department of Insurance on behalf of insurance companies, with the Insurance Commissioner approving the final rate. To view the bill, click here.
The bill would create an 11-member advisory board {“Board”) that would also have the power to investigate policyholder complaints, hold hearings and intervene in appeals. The final decision on the insurance rates would still rest in the hands of the Insurance Commissioner.
In addition, SB 395 includes a provision requiring the Bureau to share, upon request, all information and analysis it compiles in support of a property rate filing with the Board.
Currently there are no scheduled hearings on the bill, which has been referred to the Senate Insurance Committee (“Committee”).
North Carolina’s Senate Insurance Committee meets every Wednesday at 10:00am. Once the chairman places the bill on the committee’s agenda, the sponsors will present the bill and there will be an opportunity for public comment. The Committee will then decide if the bill should be stopped in committee or shall move forward.
If the Committee approves the bill, it will then be sent for consideration to the full Senate body. Once in the Senate, there would be two additional readings and votes. If the bill passes through the Senate successfully, it is then forwarded to the House of Representatives to go through the same process starting first in Committee, since there is currently no companion bill in the House. Once the bill passes through both houses in the same format, it is taken to the Governor for signature.