Helene won't impact western North Carolina homeowners' insurance rates for at least 2 years

Homeowners’ insurance rates will increase on average by about 7.5% in North Carolina for the next two years. They will go up the most in counties where hurricanes are a major risk.

The state's mountain counties have traditionally been spared from significant hurricane damage. That is until Helene struck in late September.

Because of the timing of the rate process, homeowners in that region won’t feel a big insurance pinch for at least the next two years.

That should give western North Carolina residents some breathing room as they rebuild, says Jason Tyson, communications director for the state Department of Insurance.

“It is a unique situation with Helene, and it is a good byproduct of this process you could say, that homeowners in those counties won't see major increases for the next two and a half years,” he says.

Last year, months before Helene struck, the North Carolina Rate Bureau — which represents the insurance industry — proposed an increase of 20.5% for a group of mountain counties including Alleghany, Ashe, Buncombe, Watauga and Yancey. 

The insurance department negotiated that down to about 4.5% for each of the next two years. Under the settlement, the rate bureau can’t seek another increase until June 2027.

For homeowners in Forsyth, Guilford and Alamance counties, the rate board had proposed an increase of about 36%. The approved rate is just over 8 percent in 2025 and again in 2026.