Tag Archive for: #ncdepartmentofinsurance

TownTalk: Causey Talks Insurance Rates, Hurricane Helene Cleanup and More

/by

N.C. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey and his team at the Department of Insurance are advocates for consumers when it comes to claims disputes or proposed rate hikes for automobile or home insurance.

But it was when Causey was trying to call attention to the health of first responders that he got his own wake-up call, and it probably saved him from a heart attack.

At the request of a fire association in the western part of the state a couple of years ago, Causey agreed to have one of those body scans – a sort of ultrasound – to kick off a health program that was going to be offered to local first responders in the area.

Too many firefighters come back from a fire call or from training and subsequently suffer heart attacks, he said, and he said he was happy to promote health and wellness among those first responders who provide a vital service in their communities.

The body scans “check to see if you’ve got any problems,” he said on Wednesday’s TownTalk and when they got to his heart, “they noticed that something was not quite right with one of the valves.”

Most likely, he’d had it since birth and had been living symptom-free. He has since recovered from a surgery last month to correct the problem and Causey said he’s good as new with heart health restored.

He also pronounced healthy the state’s insurance market, noting that North Carolina enjoys lower rates than many other states.

“We’re probably the healthiest and most stable insurance market in the country,” Causey said, adding that our auto insurance rates are some of the lowest in the nation.

That doesn’t change the fact, however, that some people in the state are paying high rates for automobile insurance, he said, as a result of individual driving records or other factors.

“There’s a lot of upward pressure in every state to raise car insurance premiums,” Causey said. He cited four main factors that drive up rates: distracted driving, speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and not wearing seatbelts.

Number one is distracted driving, he said. There are too many people texting and driving, causing accidents that sometimes are deadly.

“If we could get people to put down their cell phones, keep both hands on the wheel and pay attention, we’d be better off,” he said.

More people are speeding these days, and whether they’re zipping along the interstate or two-lane roads, it’s a problem. More people are driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, too. And he said it’s hard to believe, but too many people in vehicles just aren’t buckling up.

All those factors can contribute to drivers and passengers being injured in car crashes, but higher vehicle prices also plays a role in increased premiums.

A tap on someone’s bumper could turn into a $2,000 or $3,000 repair, he said.

“The bottom line is people’s driving habits,” Causey said. “As long as people are driving recklessly and speeding and having accidents, it’s going to keep driving up the cost of insurance.”

Western N.C. Hurricane Relief

Causey said the Department of Insurance has had a presence in western N.C. since Helene’s devastating flooding, and he said there’s been “tremendous improvement” especially with road and highway repairs.  With the current threat of wildfires, that part of the state continues to face challenges.

“We go from floods to wildfires,” Causey said. “Whether you lose your home to a wildfire or a flood, it’s still a loss.” Very few of the homeowners had flood insurance, which means “they got zero unless there was some other damage to the house.”

He said he participated in a roundtable discussion back in the fall that took place in Washington, D.C. convened by FEMA and the Treasury Department to hear about the federal response to Helene.

“The big problem is the flood insurance,” Causey said, adding that there needs to be some way to have policies include damage from floods.

The Department of Insurance offers help to consumers – visit www.ncdoi.gov or call 855.408.1212 toll-free to learn more.

CLICK PLAY!

 

NC Department of Insurance

Two Vance County men charged with acting as a bail bondsman without a license, breaking and entering, felonious restraint, simple assault

/by

— press release courtesy of NC Department of Insurance

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey (Friday, Oct 25, 2024) announced the arrests of James Otis Perry, 76, of 610 E. Montgomery St., Henderson, and James DeCarlo Alston, 44, of 177 Tungsten Mine Road, Henderson. Both were charged with felony breaking and entering and felonious restraint. The two were also charged with acting as a bail bondsman without a license and simple assault, both misdemeanors.

Special agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse the two of acting as bail bondsmen without a license when they broke into an apartment on Franklin Court in Louisburg, striking a man at the apartment, restraining him and taking him to the Franklin County Sheriff’s office.

The offenses occurred on Aug. 21.

The two were arrested on Oct. 14.

Special agents expect to arrest an additional person in the case.

“I encourage everyone to report illegal behavior, suspected scams or insurance fraud immediately by calling 919-807-6840 or toll free from anywhere in North Carolina at 888-680-7684,” Commissioner Causey said.

You can anonymously report the scam or fraud. Information is also available at www.ncdoi.gov.

NC Department of Insurance

Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey Visits Henderson For Chamber-Sponsored Event

/by

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

/by

 

 

 

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.

 

CLICK PLAY!