Because the second half of a two-step statewide rate settlement landed on June 1, 2026, and on the coast the steps are much bigger than the statewide average. If your house sits in the beach rating territory, which covers the barrier island areas of New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, Onslow and Carteret counties, base rates went up 16% in 2025 and another 15.9% this year.
Here is the background. In January 2025 the North Carolina Rate Bureau, which files rates on behalf of insurance companies, had asked for an average 42.2% statewide increase, with proposals as high as 99.4% in some coastal areas. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey settled instead for an average statewide increase of 7.5% on June 1, 2025 and 7.5% on June 1, 2026, with no territory going above 35% and no new base rate request allowed before June 1, 2027. The Department of Insurance put the savings against what carriers asked for at roughly $777 million.
The statewide average is not your number. Rates are set by territory, and southeastern North Carolina sits in three of them. That is why one neighbor in Wilmington got a 5% base rate increase and another on the island got 16%.
Which rating territory is your house in?
The Department of Insurance publishes both the territory definitions and the approved settlement table. Read together, they explain almost every bill in our market.
- Territory 120, the beach areas of Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender counties: 99.4% requested, 16% approved for 2025 and 15.9% for 2026 NC Department of Insurance settlement table, January 2025
- Territory 140, the eastern coastal areas of the same counties, including ZIP codes 28403, 28405, 28409, 28411, 28412, 28428, 28443, 28460, 28461 and 28480: 71.4% requested, 10.5% approved for 2025 and 10.1% for 2026 NC Department of Insurance settlement table, January 2025
- Territory 160, the western coastal areas, including ZIP codes 28401, 28425, 28429, 28451 and 28457: 43% requested, 5% approved for 2025 and 4.8% for 2026 NC Department of Insurance settlement table, January 2025
- Statewide average: 7.5% on June 1, 2025 and 7.5% on June 1, 2026, capped at 35% in any single territory NC Department of Insurance, January 17, 2025
Two things surprise people in that list. The first is that downtown Wilmington in 28401 and Leland in 28451 are in the lowest of the three coastal territories, while Wrightsville Beach in 28480 and Southport in 28461 are in the middle one, and the beach strip itself is in the highest. The second is that the territory line does not follow the ZIP boundary neatly at the water. The Rate Bureau’s beach territory is drawn around the barrier island areas specifically, so a 28480 or 28428 address can rate differently from another address in the same ZIP. Your declarations page names your territory. Read it before you argue with anyone about your renewal.
Why your bill rose more than your territory’s percentage
Because the approved number is a base rate, not your premium. Three other things move on top of it, and in our experience they account for most of the surprise.
The first is your Coverage A amount. Carriers adjust the rebuild cost on your dwelling at renewal, and when that number goes up your premium rises with it even if the rate did not change. The second is the wind and hail deductible, which on the coast is often a percentage of insured value rather than a flat dollar amount. A 2% named-storm deductible on a $600,000 rebuild cost is $12,000 out of pocket before the carrier pays anything, and that line moves independently of the headline rate. The third is that individual companies can and do file their own deviations from the bureau’s base rate. Two carriers in the same territory on the same street will not quote the same number, which is the argument for shopping the renewal rather than paying it.
If you own a rental or a second home, another increase is coming
Non-owner-occupied property runs on dwelling policies, not homeowners policies, and those were settled separately. The Rate Bureau filed for a 68.3% increase in late October 2025. The Department of Insurance settled on April 22, 2026 for an average statewide 5% on October 1, 2026 and another 5% on October 1, 2027, which the department valued at more than $268 million in savings against the request. That settlement also carries mitigation credits for fortified roofs and homes in eastern North Carolina territories.
That matters here because a large share of Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Oak Island inventory is second homes and short-term rentals. If you are running rental numbers on a beach purchase this fall, use a bound quote and build in the October 1 step.
What actually lowers the number
A fortified roof is the one upgrade with money attached to it. The North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association runs two grant programs for its own policyholders: Strengthen Your Roof pays up to $10,000 toward an IBHS FORTIFIED roof for properties in rating territories 110 and 120, and the Strengthen Your Coastal Roof pilot pays up to $6,000 in territories 130, 140, 150 and 160. Both require an active NCIUA policy and give approved applicants 18 months to complete the work and earn the designation. The Department of Insurance also lists wind mitigation credits for qualifying construction, which vary by insurer and territory.
Beyond the roof, the practical moves are unglamorous. Shop at least three carriers at renewal rather than accepting the increase. Ask what your wind and hail deductible is as a dollar figure, not a percentage. Ask whether raising your all-other-perils deductible buys back more than it costs. And if you are getting a non-renewal notice rather than an increase, start that conversation early, because in our experience coastal coverage takes longer to place than it used to.
We are brokers, not insurance agents, and we do not quote policies. Two honest cautions. First, the settlement blocks a new base rate filing before June 1, 2027, but that does not mean your premium holds until then. Rebuild costs, carrier deviations and a bad storm season can all move your bill without a bureau filing. Second, flood is a separate policy entirely, usually through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood carrier, and nothing in this settlement touches it. If your total cost of ownership went up this year, look at both policies before you decide which one is the problem.
Related questions people also ask
Does this affect what my house is worth?
Indirectly, and mostly through the buyer’s payment. Buyers shopping a beach house in 2026 are running the insurance quote alongside the mortgage payment, and a percentage-based wind deductible can change what they are willing to offer. Our New Hanover County market update has the current picture: a median sale price of $448,000 for the three months ending August 2026, down 3.5% year over year, with the typical home taking 58 days against 37 a year ago. Carrying cost is part of why that pace changed.
Should I get an insurance quote before I list?
Yes, and it is the single most underrated pre-listing task on the coast. We have watched deals stall at day 20 because a buyer’s quote came back far above what they assumed. Knowing the number lets you answer it in the first showing rather than renegotiate later, and if your roof, age of systems or deductible structure is the reason the quote is high, you can decide what to do about it before you are under contract.
Will a new roof lower my premium on its own?
Not automatically. The credit is tied to the designation, not the shingles, which means a roof has to be installed to the IBHS FORTIFIED standard and certified to earn the discount. A standard replacement may help with underwriting and non-renewal risk without producing a line-item credit, so ask your carrier what it pays for before you sign the roofing contract.
Pull your declarations page, find your rating territory and your wind and hail deductible, and then get two competing quotes before your renewal date. If the number is changing what you can afford to keep or what you think your house will sell for, schedule a consultation and we will walk through both sides of that math with you.
Sources: NC Department of Insurance, “Commissioner Causey negotiates settlement on Rate Bureau’s homeowners’ insurance request,” January 17, 2025. NC Department of Insurance, 2024 proposed homeowners insurance increase settlement table, January 2025. NC Department of Insurance homeowners rating territory list, read September 2026. NC Department of Insurance, “Commissioner Causey negotiates dwelling rate settlement with insurance companies,” April 22, 2026. North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association, Strengthen Your Roof and Strengthen Your Coastal Roof program rules, read September 2026. Redfin, median sale price for the three months ending August 2026 and days on market for August 2026, via our New Hanover County market update.
