North Carolina SB 979: Increase Insurance Rate Transparency.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 979

Short Title: Increase Insurance Rate Transparency. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Murdock (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
May 4, 2026
*S979-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT MODIFYING THE CONSENT AND NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 2
INSURANCE RATE DEVIATIONS, PROHIBITING THE USE OF CREDIT SCORING 3
TO RATE NONCOMMERCIAL PRIVATE PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE AND 4
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY INSURANCE, DIRECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF 5
INSURANCE TO STUDY THE GRADUAL REDUCTION OF CONSENT TO RATE 6
DEVIATIONS BY INSURERS, DIRECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE TO 7
CONDUCT A PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON CONSENT TO RATE 8
DEVIATIONS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF 9
INSURANCE. 10
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 11
SECTION 1. G.S. 58-36-30 reads as rewritten: 12
"§ 58-36-30. Deviations. 13
... 14
(b1) This subsection applies only to insurance against loss to residential property with not 15
more than four housing units. A rate in excess of that promulgated by the Bureau may be charged 16
by an insurer on any specific risk if the higher rate is charged in accordance with rules adopted 17
by the Commissioner. An insurer shall give notice to the insured that the rates used to calculate 18
the premium for the policy are greater than those rates that are applicable in the State of North 19
Carolina. by including the following language in the policy on page one of the declarations page 20
or on a separate page before the declarations page, in at least 14 point type or in a font size larger 21
than the remainder of the document whichever is larger, bolded, and all capitalized: 22
23
NOTICE: IN ACCORDANCE WITH G.S. 58-36-30(b1), THE PREMIUM BASED UPON 24
THE APPROVED RATES IN NORTH CAROLINA FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY 25
INSURANCE COVERAGE APPLIED FOR WOULD BE $____. OUR PREMIUM FOR THIS 26
COVERAGE IS $____. 27
28
The disclosure statement noted above in this subsection shall be included on any renewal of 29
or endorsement to the policy when the rates charged exceed the approved manual rate. The 30
insurer shall retain consent to rate information for each insured and make this information 31
available to the Commissioner, upon request of the Commissioner.Commissioner and with the 32
knowledge and consent of the insured. 33
At least 60 days prior to charging a higher rate an insurer shall notify the insured: (i) that the 34
rates used to calculate the premium for the policy will be greater than those rates that are 35
applicable in the State of North Carolina, (ii) what the premium based upon approved rates in 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 979-First Edition
North Carolina for residential property would be, (iii) what the insurer's premium for this 1
coverage will be, (iv) of the specific justification for charging the greater rate, and (v) of any 2
actions the insured could take to mitigate the insurer's justification for charging a higher rate. The 3
notice and consent required by this subsection may be in electronic form and delivered by 4
electronic means. 5
Any data obtained by the Commissioner under this subsection is proprietary and confidential 6
and is not a public record under G.S. 132-1 or G.S. 58-2-100. 7
(b2) Notwithstanding subsection (b1) of this section, the Commissioner shall collect 8
annually from all insurers and publish on the Department's website no later than July 1 the 9
following data aggregated across all insurers for each geographical rate-making territory: 10
(1) The percentage of policies for which a consent to rate has been obtained.The 11
number of policies in effect, or other exposures insured. For the purposes of 12
this subsection, "policies in effect" shall mean the number of policies written 13
in the reporting year, and "other exposures," if any, shall mean any coverage 14
extended other than policies written, and shall be described in the report in 15
sufficient detail to identify the coverage provided. 16
(2) The average difference between the approved premium and the consented 17
premium.The number of applications for coverage. 18
(3) The number of applications for which coverage was not provided, classified 19
according to applications withdrawn, applications denied, and applications 20
still in process. 21
(4) The number of policies not renewed, classified according to nonrenewals 22
initiated by the insurer, and nonrenewals initiated by the policyholder, with 23
subclassifications to include the following reasons for nonrenewal: 24
a. For nonrenewals initiated by the insurer: (i) lack of payment, (ii) 25
misrepresentation, (iii) property features, (iv) climate risk, (v) 26
reduction in service area, or (vi) other. 27
b. For nonrenewals initiated by the policyholder: (i) cost, (ii) untimely 28
settlement of claims, (iii) unsatisfactory customer service, (iv) 29
identification of more suitable insurance options, (v) vacating 30
proper