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NC Department of Insurance

Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey Visits Henderson For Chamber-Sponsored Event

N.C. Department of Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey was in Henderson Tuesday and spoke to a room full of local insurance agents, business leaders and others from the community about what’s going on in the industry.

The event, sponsored by the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce, was held in the Farm Bureau Room of Perry Memorial Library, which Causey noted was a fitting location for the program. Following his remarks, Causey entertained questions from the audience.

Causey is seeking a third term as the state’s insurance commissioner; he faces two Republican challengers in the Mar. 5 primary.

At the top of everybody’s minds is the proposed 40-plus percent rate hike presented recently to Causey by the N.C. Rate Bureau.

Causey told the group that state law requires just one word from the insurance commissioner with regard to a proposed rate hike: yes or no.

Causey said he’s always answered “no,” which means the proposal goes before the courts for a determination. The Rate Bureau has to submit a lot of paperwork that includes payout totals for claims and amounts paid for premiums.

The period for public comment continues through Feb. 2; so far, Causey said his department has gotten about 10,000 comments, the vast majority of which are against the rate hike.

He said he must wait until the comment period has closed before making a statement about the proposed rate hike. He said that likely would come sometime between Feb. 2 and Feb. 22; a court date most likely would come in October.

“In fairness to the insurance companies, they have paid out a lot in claims,” Causey explained, citing dozens of recent natural disasters from wildfires to hurricanes. “We all pay for it, no matter where you live.”

The insurance department oversees more than just homeowners’ insurance, Causey said. The Smart NC program,for example, helps consumers who have disputes with doctors, hospitals and medical bills. “It’s done a lot to help people,” he said.

The department’s fraud control group mainly focuses on white collar crime and there are sworn officers – federally funded – who investigate Social Security fraud.

“I talk about fraud so much because we’re paying for it,” Causey said. The “we” in this case is everyone who pays insurance of any kind. He said that about 20 cents of every dollar spent on insurance is used to combat fraud.

In the world of insurance, the rule of thumb is that 1 in 10 claims will be unfounded or fake. But when it comes to health care fraud, that number jumps to more than 4 in 10, he said.

Anyone who suspects fraud can report anonymously to the Department of Insurance. It takes less than a minute to file a complaint online, he said. The department fields about 6,000 calls a year.

If investigators determine that the fraud is a civil, rather than criminal, matter, the department sends out a warning letter that lets folks know that what they’ve done is wrong and they’ve been put on notice to stop.

Causey said more than 200 letters have been sent, and not one person has been a repeat offender.

“Sometimes it just takes getting their attention,” he said.

Another program available through DOI is the Lost Life Insurance Locator, which does exactly what the name implies – it helps locate life insurance policies. People who want to know if their deceased relatives have any life insurance policies that they don’t know about need only submit a bit of demographic information to find the answer.

“If it was written within the state, we’ll find it,” Causey said.

So far, the program has found more than $300 million in life insurance. Last year alone, the figure was $66 million.

Causey has in his possession a policy from 1908 that is signed by the very first person to hold the office of insurance commissioner in North Carolina. That man was James Young, an insurance agent from right here in Henderson. He served for 22 years, from 1899 to 1921.

Visit www.ncdoi.gov to find out more.

Check out Tuesday’s TownTalk at wizs.com to hear an interview with Commissioner Causey that was aired at 11 a.m.

TownTalk: NC Insurance Commissioner Discusses Rate Increases

 

 

 

The proposal to raise homeowners’ insurance rates has been a hot topic of conversation lately for Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, and he wants the people of North Carolina to understand one thing: He’s not the one asking for it.

In fact, Causey said on Tuesday’s TownTalk, he has said “no” to every request brought to him for consideration by the N.C. Rate Bureau, the group that is proposing the rate increase.

Causey is running for a third term as insurance commissioner and has two Republican challengers in the upcoming March primary elections.

Since the announcement was made a couple of weeks ago to raise rates by more than 40 percent, Causey said he and his office have gotten close to 10,000 comments. And, not surprisingly, he noted, those comments overwhelmingly are against a rate hike.

“Everybody’s basically saying the same thing,” he said in comments recorded on Monday for air on Tuesday’s program. Prices have gone up at the grocery store and the gas pump and folks can’t handle a bump in insurance rates.

The most recent rate hike came back in 2020 and after all was said and done, the original proposal of about 22 percent was negotiated down to about 8 percent, Causey said.

The General Assembly established the rate bureau in 1977 and Causey said it has created “a healthy and stable insurance market” for the state since its inception.

There was a public hearing held in Raleigh on Monday – it’s all part of the process in place when a rate hike is proposed. Causey said public comment will be open until Feb. 2.

With thousands of comments already received, Causey said he expects that number to get even  larger.

“It’s a big turnout because it’s such a big request,” he said.

Causey said he wants to bring more insurance companies to North Carolina to create more competition among carriers and to allow customers to shop around for the best rates. What he doesn’t want, however, is for” insurance companies charging us extra to pay their executives more.”

Visit www.ncdoi.gov and click on the link to send your comments about the proposal rate hike.

The Department of Insurance handles all sorts of issues, not just insurance rate hikes. Sharing relevant information to educate the public about insurance issues also is a part of what his department does, too.

“It’s important that people have a local insurance agent,” he said, to make sure you have the right kind of coverage for you or your business.

Those commercials for online agencies may sound tempting, but Causey said nothing can replace that local agent you can phone or visit to get your questions answered.

With a background as an insurance agent himself, Causey said his best tip is to make sure you have replacement value coverage.

“If you don’t have replacement value coverage, you get cash value,” he said. So that expensive furniture that set you back a few thousand dollars a few years ago has now depreciated, so if you submit a claim to replace it, without replacement value coverage, you’re only going to get that depreciated value.

“Replacement value coverage will pay for a brand-new item, regardless of the cost (of the lost item),” Causey said.

Email Causey at mike.causey@ncdoi.gov.

 

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Cooperative Extension: What Works in the Garden

Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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Chamber’s Leadership Vance 2024 Forming – Applications Due Feb. 2 By 5 P.M.

The Leadership Vance 2024 application process is open through Friday, Feb. 2 and Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Wilkerson said participants will get an in-depth look at the county, from its rich history and varied amenities to business and industry growth and much more.

Applications should be received by 5 p.m. on Feb. 2, Wilkerson said.

“Leadership Vance is a proven, structured program, designed to create a corps of informed and dedicated emerging leaders in our community,” Wilkerson said.  Upon graduation, the program participants will be qualified to meet the present and future challenges facing Henderson and Vance County. During the months-long program, participants will get a chance to learn about all aspects of the community in which they live and work.

They also will get to learn about volunteer civic and community opportunities, as well as gain valuable insight to boost their business and career goals.

For more information, contact Wilkerson at 252.438.8414 or via email at sandra@hendersonvance.org.

TownTalk: Housing And Discrimination

 

 

Finding a new place to live can create all kinds of feelings, from excitement to anxiety. But looking for a new place where you and your family call home should NOT make you feel like you’re being discriminated against.

Hope Williams, supervising attorney with N.C. Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project, said anyone who feels like they have encountered discrimination during the search for a place to live has some recourse.

The Fair Housing Act became law in 1968, a time when discrimination may have been more blatant. “We are still fighting to stop discrimination in housing,” she said on Monday’s TownTalk, although today’s cases may be more subtle – and perhaps more difficult to prove.

She said her office has three attorneys that serve the whole state. They are able to represent some clients, but they simply don’t have the staff to take on all the cases.

“We talk to people who call us and we give them advice about their legal issues,” she said. They help clients file administrative complaints with the federal Housing and Urban Development agency and with the N.C. Human Relations Commission.

They also focus on community education and training to raise awareness about what discrimination is and what it looks like. For instance, many people wrongly assume that fair housing rules only apply to subsidized housing. Not true. It applies to all housing.

Administrative complaints must be filed within one year of the encounter; there is an option to file a complaint in the courts system, which has a two-year window.

One piece of advice Williams has for anyone who feels that they have been the subject of housing discrimination: document everything.

Looking at interactions and communications over time sometimes can help provide critical evidence. “We make timelines to look for patterns,” she said.

Many complaints come from individuals with disabilities. Landlords must comply with “reasonable accommodations” that allow disabled people access. In such cases, the tenant is responsible for the cost of the accommodation – think wheelchair ramp or other physical structure – and for returning the dwelling to its original state if and when they vacate the dwelling.

The bottom line is a landlord can’t just refuse to allow a reasonable accommodation.

Same thing with a service animal, Williams said. A person who uses a service animal would be responsible for any damage by an animal, but he or she can’t be required to pay an upfront pet fee.

Call the Fair Housing Project’s direct line at N.C. Legal Aid at 855.797.FAIR.

Visit www.fairhousingnc.org to learn more.

 

 

Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Invasive Plants

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