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Auto Insurance Rates Going Up

Charlotte's roads are jammed, but the McCrory administration says the state's new road funding formula will help.
David Boraks
/
WFAE

Many North Carolina car owners will see their auto insurance rates go up soon, but not nearly as much as insurance companies requested.

Insurance rates will go up on average 2.2 percent starting October 1. The North Carolina Rate Bureau which represents insurance companies doing business in the state had asked for a nearly 14 percent increase. This week the North Carolina Department of Insurance announced the settlement for the much smaller hike. Bob Rosser, with the department says there are several reasons for the increase.

“Distracted driving has become a big issue in creating more accidents. There’s more people on the road because of lower gas prices. There’s higher medical bills involved in the accidents that have ensued and higher automobile repair costs that have come as a result of this,” said Rosser.

As part of the settlement the rate bureau has agreed not to ask for another increase next year. Auto insurance rates last increased in North Carolina in 2009, but that was just for a brief time before the Department of Insurance agreed to a settlement that resulted in a slight reduction of rates.