As a result of an order by the state’s insurance commissioner, homeowners insurance rates in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties will not be subject to the 35 percent increase insurance companies were seeking for next year, the state Department of Insurance announced Friday.
 
In fact, homeowners in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties will be getting lower bills.
 
The order resulted in decreases of 18 percent for western portions, 5.6 percent for beach areas, and 1 percent for eastern parts of the three counties, according to an N.C. DOI news release. Earlier in the day, the department mistakenly listed a 3.1 percent increase for eastern zip codes of local counties and a 25.8 percent decrease for western portions. 
 
The order seemed to represent both good and bad news in Wilmington.
 
“I think in the big picture, it’s a good thing. We certainly didn’t merit another increase after the ones that we’ve had in every other recent rate case,” said Tyler Newman, senior government affairs director for Business Alliance for a Sound Economy. “But it’s still confounding because our rates for fire and theft are essentially three times higher than other parts of the state.”
 
On Thursday, insurance commissioner Wayne Goodwin ordered a zero percent statewide overall average change in homeowners insurance rates, effective June 1 of next year, after a hearing to examine the insurance companies' request to raise overall average rates by 25.6 percent.
 
During the hearing, experts from the N.C. Rate Bureau, on behalf of the insurance companies, and experts from the N.C. Department of Insurance, representing the interests of the public, presented cases for and against the rate hikes, the DOI said. The session marked the first hearing on homeowners insurance rates for the state since 1992.

"The rates I have ordered are the result of the most thorough inspection of North Carolina homeowners insurance rates in more than 20 years," Goodwin said in the news release. "After considering all of the evidence and data available, I have determined that no factors or events justified the excessive rates requested by the insurance companies."

On average statewide, homeowners insurance rates are set to decrease 0.3 percent while renters rates will rise by 11.2 percent and those of condo owners by 8.1 percent, according to DOI.

Newman said he believes that legislators, now that some other parts of the state will be getting rate increases, will address the issue of homeowners insurance in their next session. All of the rate changes are available to see through the DOI's website.

“I think you’ll have legislators that are interested in looking at the process of how we make rates, asking why are we the only state in the U.S. that has a rate bureau, why do we do it the way that we do, that results in areas of the state having wildly different rates,” Newman said.