N.C. Commissioner Discusses Good, Bad Side to Insurance Questions

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long showed Friday just how high he would go to get re-elected.

He climbed to the top of the New Bern Fire and Rescue Department’s 40-foot training tower during a campaign stop, which included a late afternoon event at the Farmer’s Market in New Bern.

There, Long took questions from the press, often peppering his answers by pointing out the good news and bad.

On the good side, Long said North Carolina homeowners should not see a rise in home insurance rates because of hurricanes that left millions in damages in Florida.

“Florida’s situation will have no immediate impact on North Carolina homeowner’s insurance rates,” he said. “It will take the industry two to three years before any noticeable difference in rates will be felt.”
Long said insurance companies build payouts for potential disasters into their rates.

He said the flooding problems in the western part of North Carolina brought by the storms have caused problems.

“Most homeowners in the western part of the state have no flood insurance,” he said. “They just don’t think of that area flooding.”
He said firefighters and rescue personnel saved 500 lives during the flooding.

Long said insured automobile owners across the state are in the process of receiving portions of a $770 million refund from their insurance carriers in a court settlement he helped institute.

He said the amount of the refund varies because insurance companies began discounting rates three years ago to avoid a large payout at one time.

And, he said he did not anticipate an increase in auto insurance rates for a year.

“There will only be an increase if it gets past me,” Long said, adding the state had the eighth lowest auto insurance rates in the nation in 2002.

Asked what regrets he has had as insurance commissioner since being elected in 1985, he said “not getting the word out to the public about illegal and unauthorized insurance companies setting up shop in the state.”

“It’s not a sexy story for the press,” he said. “But people need to be warned about great deals on health insurance or any other kind of insurance. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it should be checked out. People should call our office to find out the true deal.”
Long, the incumbent Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Robert Brawley, an insurance agent who served in the state house from 1981 to 1995.

Long, a lawyer, served in the state house before being elected as insurance commissioner.