Why is my increase bigger than what the state approved?
Because the approved rate is a ceiling you can be asked to sign away. North Carolina lets a company charge above the approved rate when the policyholder consents in writing — consent to rate. It applied to 62.9% of homeowners policies in 2025, averaging $724 above the approved rate. It is printed on your declarations page in bold capitals.
Nothing here is advice about your policy. Below is the record: how common the practice has become, the notice language itself, and what to ask.
What consent to rate is
Homeowners and dwelling rates in North Carolina are filed by the North Carolina Rate Bureau and either approved, settled, or ordered by the Department of Insurance. That outcome is the approved rate for each rate territory.
Under N.C.G.S. § 58-36-30(b), a company may write a policy above that approved rate if the policyholder signs a consent-to-rate agreement. The agreement is written, it names a rate, and it stands for a maximum of three years before it must be signed again. It is not a penalty and it is not an error — it is a filed, legal mechanism that sits on top of the approved rate.
This is why two houses on the same street, in the same rate territory, can see very different renewal numbers in a year when the approved statewide change was modest.
How common it has become
The share of North Carolina homeowners policies written on consent to rate went from 40.3% in 2022 to 62.9% in 2025.
Share of NC homeowners policies written on consent to rate
Stepped: each reported value holds across its reporting year.
| Reporting year | Share of policies |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 40.3% |
| 2023 | 48.6% |
| 2024 | 56.4% |
| 2025 | 62.9% |
The companion series — share of premium and average dollars above the approved rate — are on the statistics page.
The exact language on your declarations page
When a policy is written on consent to rate, the declarations page carries a notice to that effect, in capitals. Quoted verbatim:
THIS POLICY IS ISSUED AT A RATE HIGHER THAN THE RATE APPROVED BY THE NORTH CAROLINA COMMISSIONER OF INSURANCE. YOU HAVE CONSENTED TO THIS RATE.
Wording varies slightly by company; the substance — that the rate exceeds the approved rate and that you consented — does not. Look on page one of the declarations, near the premium summary, and check for a separate signed consent-to-rate form in your policy packet.
What to do next
Three questions to ask your carrier or agent, in writing, and why each one matters. Ask for the answers in writing too.
1.Is my policy written on consent to rate this term, and was it last term?
Consent to rate must be agreed to in writing, and the agreement is effective for no more than three years before it has to be renewed. The answer tells you whether the surcharge is new.
2.What is the approved rate for my territory, and how many dollars above it am I being charged?
The approved change for your county is public and published on this site. The difference between it and your premium is the part consent to rate explains.
3.What would my premium be at the approved rate, and what would have to change for me to be written there?
Companies use consent to rate for risk characteristics — claims history, roof age, coverage amount, or a lapse. Asking makes those reasons explicit and dated.
The Department of Insurance operates a consumer assistance line for questions about a policy or a rate. Start by comparing your renewal against the approved change for your county — check your increase.