Consent to rate lets a North Carolina insurer charge more than the Rate Bureau's approved rate on a home with up to four units. Since January 1, 2019, you don't sign a form. Instead, your declarations page must show, in bold capitals, the premium at the approved rate and the premium the company is charging.
Pick your town or county to see the typical yearly home insurance premium our own clients pay, from the policies we write and service.
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Typical means the median: half of policyholders pay less, half pay more. The headline number is for a home insured for $250,000 to $400,000; the table shows every size of home. Source: Sizemore Insurance clients' in-force policies as of October 9, 2026, not a survey or national average (how we got these numbers). Not a quote.
North Carolina homeowners rates are filed through the North Carolina Rate Bureau. Under G.S. 58-36-30(b1), an insurer can charge a higher rate on a specific home, with not more than four housing units, if it follows the Insurance Commissioner's rules. That's consent to rate.
The law requires a notice on page one of the declarations page, or on a separate page before it, in at least 14 point type or larger than the rest of the document, bolded and in all capitals. It states what the premium would be at the approved North Carolina rate and what the company's premium is. The same notice goes on renewals and endorsements whenever the rate charged is above the approved rate.
Before 2019, the company needed your signature on a consent to rate form. The Department of Insurance explains that House Bill 382 removed the signature requirement and replaced the form with the disclosure on the declarations page, for new and renewal policies and endorsements effective on or after January 1, 2019. If someone tells you to sign a consent to rate form today, that information is out of date.
The law requires the Commissioner to collect data from insurers every year and publish it by July 1, by rating territory: the share of policies written on consent to rate and the average difference between the approved premium and the consented premium. That gives you a way to see how your area compares.
Consent to rate isn't a penalty, and sometimes it's the only way a company will write a particular home, especially near the coast or with an older roof. But the notice tells you exactly how much more you're paying than the approved rate. Bring that page to us. We'll check whether another company will write the home at a lower premium, and if consent to rate is still the best answer, you'll know why.
Every situation is a little different. If you want someone to look at your own policy, call us at (910) 791-1011 or start a quote online. We're an independent, family-owned company founded in 1977, with eight offices in North Carolina, and we're licensed in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland.
This page is general information, not a coverage determination or legal advice. Policies, rules and availability vary and change. Review your own policy or talk to your advisor.