Insurance chief cuts top auto insurance rate

ANDREW SHAIN
ashain@charlotteobserver.com

Auto insurance rates for some N.C. drivers will drop twice in the next six months.

N.C. Insurance Commissioner Jim Long decided Tuesday to drop the maximum rate charged by insurers by an average of 2.9 percent statewide on Nov. 15. This is on top of a 2.5 percent average drop that starts May 15.

For some Charlotte-area drivers, the combined decreases could save about $80 in annual premiums.

But not all motorists will save money.

That's because an estimated 75 percent of N.C. drivers receive discounts on their premiums for having good driving records, good credit or their homeowners policy with the same company. Insurers have said they likely will keep premiums for those policyholders steady. The average discount is about 15 percent.

Insurers had sought a 7.4 percent average increase in the top rates to pay for rising medical claims costs from accidents, said Ray Evans, director of the N.C. Rate Bureau, which represents the industry in rate cases. Long said he proposed a rate decrease because insurers reported a drop in the number of claims.

Auto insurance rates have been falling nationally since last year's spiking gas prices curbed some driving, said Bob Hunter, insurance director for the Consumer Federation of America.

Rates are down about 10 percent, he estimated. "More people are carpooling, taking the bus, riding bikes," Hunter said.