Most years in North Carolina, auto insurance news arrives as a number with a percent sign and a fight attached. This year the number is zero. The North Carolina Rate Bureau — the organization that files rates on behalf of the insurance companies writing auto coverage here — did not ask for an auto rate level change at all.
That is welcome news, but it lands in the same year your homeowners policy likely got more expensive. So the useful question is not just “why aren’t auto rates rising?” It is “what should I do with a steady auto policy and a home policy that went up?”
What the Rate Bureau actually filed for 2026
North Carolina law requires the Rate Bureau to submit auto loss experience and any proposed rate adjustments to the Commissioner of Insurance each year by February 1. For 2026, it submitted a rate review only. In its April 1, 2026 circular to member companies, the Bureau said there will be no rate level changes for voluntary nonfleet private passenger auto insurance this year, and none for motorcycles. Read NCRB Circular A-26-2.
- Rate level change
- An across-the-board adjustment to the base rates insurers use statewide. It is an average — individual policies have always moved by different amounts depending on who and what is insured.
For context, the year before looked very different. In 2025 the Bureau requested a 22.6% average increase; the Department of Insurance settled it at a 5% average increase on new and renewed policies starting October 1, 2025. Read the NCDOI announcement. Those settled rates were set to remain in effect until October 1, 2026, with the next filing due February 1, 2026 — the filing that came in with no change. Insurance Business coverage of the 2025 settlement.
“No rate change” does not mean “same bill”
A flat statewide rate level is a baseline. Your renewal can still go up or down for reasons that have nothing to do with the Bureau’s filing. It is worth reading your auto renewal with the same care as any other year.
- Has anything changed on my driving record, or on the record of anyone else listed on the policy?
- Did we add a driver, a teen, or a vehicle — or did a vehicle age out of a rating category?
- Did any discount drop off, and if so, why?
- Did my coverage limits or deductibles change, on purpose or by default?
Meanwhile, home insurance went the other direction
Homeowners insurance followed a separate track. After the Rate Bureau requested a 42.2% average increase in 2024, the Department of Insurance settled on an average base-rate increase of 7.5% on June 1, 2025 and another 7.5% on June 1, 2026 (what the 2026 increase means locally). NC Newsline on the homeowners settlement. The amount varies by location, and the settlement bars the Bureau from seeking another homeowners increase before June 1, 2027. ABC11 coverage of the settlement terms.
| Line | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Private passenger auto | Average increase of 5%, effective October 1, 2025 | No rate level change; program revisions effective October 1, 2026 |
| Homeowners | Average base-rate increase of 7.5%, effective June 1, 2025 | Second average base-rate increase of 7.5%, effective June 1, 2026 |
Put those together and many households in Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin counties are looking at an auto policy that is holding steady and a home policy that is not. That gap is exactly why it helps to look at the two together rather than one at a time.
Landlords have one more date to watch: dwelling policies on rental homes take their own average 5% increase for policies effective on or after October 1, 2026. Here is what that change means for rental owners.
What changed on auto policies October 1
Rates are flat, but the Rate Bureau’s policy program was revised in a separate filing the Commissioner approved. These changes apply to new and renewal policies effective on or after October 1, 2026, and the Bureau notes they include no rate level adjustments. See the summary in Circular A-26-2.
- More deductible choices. New collision and comprehensive deductible options were added. If you have been at the same deductible for years, it is a reasonable time to ask what the options look like on your vehicles.
- Theft transportation expenses increased. The amount the policy pays toward getting around after a covered theft rose to up to $30 per day, with a $900 maximum.
- The lowest optional transportation-expense tier was retired. The $15-per-day ($450 maximum) option was eliminated, so the optional tiers now start higher.
- Delivery exclusion narrowed. The general delivery-of-goods exclusion — think newspapers or pizza — now applies only to liability limits above North Carolina’s minimum financial responsibility limits. Delivery while logged into an app platform is handled by a separate exclusion that did not change.
Why a steady auto year is a good year to compare
When auto rates are moving quickly, quotes can feel like a moving target. A year with no statewide change gives you a cleaner comparison: differences between quotes are more likely to reflect how each company rates you, not timing. And since your home premium just changed, it makes sense to price the two together.
- Bundling
- Placing auto and home (or renters) with the same insurance company. Many companies offer a multi-policy discount, but whether you qualify — and whether the combined price beats separate policies — depends on the company and your situation.
Bundling is not automatically the better deal. Sometimes the strongest home option and the strongest auto option are with different companies. The only way to know is to compare the combined price and the coverage on both policies, line by line.
- Pull your current auto declarations page and your June home renewal.
- Note your liability limits, deductibles and any endorsements on both.
- Ask for quotes on the same coverage — bundled and unbundled — so you are comparing like with like.
- Check that any change starts on a confirmed date with no gap in coverage.
A few more questions
Does “no rate level change” apply to every auto insurer in North Carolina?
The Rate Bureau files on behalf of its member companies for voluntary private passenger auto. Individual companies still apply their own rating details within the system, so two companies can quote the same driver differently.
Will auto rates stay flat next year too?
Nobody can promise that. The Bureau files auto rate information every year by February 1, so 2027 will depend on what it files and how the Commissioner responds.
Should I switch my home policy just because it went up?
Not automatically. A higher premium is a reason to compare, not a reason to move. Look at coverage limits, the wind/hail deductible and any exclusions alongside the price.
Sources and further reading
- North Carolina Rate Bureau — Circular A-26-2 (April 1, 2026) — No 2026 rate level change for private passenger auto or motorcycles; program revisions effective October 1, 2026.
- NC Department of Insurance — 2025 auto rate settlement — Average 5% increase effective October 1, 2025, against a 22.6% request.
- Insurance Business — 2025 auto settlement terms — Settled rates in effect until October 1, 2026; next filing due February 1, 2026.
- NC Newsline — Homeowners settlement — Average 7.5% base-rate increases on June 1, 2025 and June 1, 2026.
- ABC11 — Homeowners settlement terms — Increases vary by location; no new Bureau homeowners increase effort before June 1, 2027.