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Well, the North Carolina Rate Bureau is looking to raise rates on an average of 68.3% statewide on dwelling insurance policies over the next two years. That's according to a recent press release issued by the North Carolina Department of Insurance. I'll also note that the North Carolina Rate Bureau is not an official entity with North Carolina government.
However, it does represent insurance companies in the state and is not part of the Department of Insurance. The Rate Bureau filed the proposed increase with the Department of Insurance back on October the 30th.
Now, before we get any deeper into this story, dwelling insurance is different from homeowners insurance. Dwelling policies are primarily offered to non-owner occupied residents of no more than four units. That includes rental properties, vacation homes, investment properties, as well as other properties that are not described as an individual's individual property owner's prior. Residents. The first proposed average statewide increase of 28.5% would take effect July of 2026, with a second increase of 30.9%, again on average, taking effect in July of 2027.
That's how you get to that whopping 68.3% increase. The proposed changes are averages and will vary by territory. In an emailed statement to CarolinaJournal.com, the North Carolina Rate Bureau said it reviewed data on tens of thousands of actual insurance claims from 2019 through 2023 to determine the premiums needed to cover risks and build that request. They stated that they requested a substantial increase in dwelling rates because claim costs have risen substantially, noting climate change as one of the culprits. All right, well, we'll take their word for it on that.
The Rate Bureau stated, quote, the 20% of the $27 separate billion-dollar disasters that have hit the United States in 2024 would have been an all-time record had it not been for the 28 billion disasters that hit the United States in 2023. They also noted that inflation in the construction industry has far outpaced overall inflation in recent years, and some of the fastest growing areas in North Carolina are coastal areas where storm damage is more common. They said in their email, quote, simply put, severe storm damage is becoming more common, it's impacting more homes, and it's more expensive to rebuild afterwards. The last dwelling rate hike made by the North Carolina Rate Bureau was in July of 2023 when it requested an average statewide increase of 50.6%. The North Carolina Department of Insurance reached an agreement with the Rate Bureau in May of 2024 where the average was only 8%, so a huge decrease from what they were initially requesting This will kick off a process that we talked about with the head of the Department of Insurance, Mike Cossey, just a couple of weeks ago.
That process, you can find out more details on it by visiting our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com. That headline story, NC Rate Bureau requests 68-plus percent increase in dwelling insurance. In some other statewide news this morning, a company by the name of Vulcan Elements, which is a Durham-based startup specializing in rare earth minerals, has announced a $1.4 billion partnership with the United States government. The investment will fund the construction, commission, and operation of a 10,000-metric ton magnet facility across North Carolina. Brian Balfour, the vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, said this is more crony capitalism, where taxpayer dollars are being used to benefit politically connected corporations.
Government should not be involved. In investing in businesses, such as practical resemblance of central planning. Business investment should be made by voluntary investors in the private sector. Vulcan Elements, in partnership with Re-Element Technologies, will scale its 100% vertical integrated domestic magnet supply chain, which is already in operation to produce a new 10,000 ton mag more than 10,000 tons of magnets annually, with a focus on recycling end-of-life magnets as well as electronic waste, according to a press release. The expansion of production capability will be funded in part by a $620 million loan from the United States Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital, as well as a $50 million investment from the U.S.
Department of Commerce under the Chips and Science Act. The company also received an additional $550 million. In private investment. Funding from the various loans does come from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump earlier this year. Howard Luttnick, the U.S.
Secretary of Commerce, in a press release said: quote: Our investment in Vulcan elements will accelerate U.S. production of rare earth magnets for American manufacturers. We are laser-focused on bringing critical minerals and rare earth manufacturing back home, ensuring that America's supply chain is strong, is secure, and perfectly reliable. The expansion of re-elements recycling and processing capabilities is being funded by that $80 million loan from the Office from OSC, that is the U.S. Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital, which a private investment will match.
The U.S. Department of Commerce will receive $50 million. dollars worth of equity in Vulcan for their investment as well. Vulcan and Re-Element collaborated to manage the entire magnet chain supply from start to finish. Re-Element processes end-of-life magnets, electronic waste, and mine to concentrates into highly pure rare earth oxides.
Vulcan, the company based in Durham, then converts these oxides into high-purity rare earth metals and manufactures finished rare earth magnets. Vulcan's products have been independently validated to meet the highest performance standards, and its magnets are already in use across critical defense and technology sectors in North Carolina. Mark Jensen, who is the CEO of ReElements Technology, said in a recent press release, quote, Re-element technologies and Vulcan elements are natural partners. Our capabilities are innovative and proven. Our teams draw on the best talent across government and industry, and our companies already have a deep record of principle-based collaboration.
With the support of the United States government, we are positioned to become a solution that secures America's fundamental supply chain. The partnership between Vulcan and Re-Element has created a U.S. supply chain that delivers end-to-end with speed, certainty, and scale for customers, providing security and resilience, according to a press release from the companies. Jason Malson, who is the CEO of Vulcan Elements, also in a press release, said, As a former Navy officer, I am honored by the trust that the American government and American people have placed in Vulcan Elements.
Now, more than ever, we remain focused on execution and performance so that we can deliver a compatibility that the nation urgently needs. Vulcan Elements and Re-Elements technology already have a record of strong collaboration, and I look forward to continuing to work together as we move forward into this next phase of our partnership. Vulcan is engaged in discussions with OSC and the Department of Commerce's Ships Program Office to finalize all of the The requirements to receive those grants. Re-Element Technologies is a U.S. refiner of rare earth and critical minerals that transforms, as we talked about, some of those end-of-light magnets, electronic waste, and some of those concentrates into highly pure separated rare earth oxides.
Then, Vulcan Elements, based in Durham. Comes in on the back side and continues the manufacturing process of that, getting those into a final product. You can read some additional details on this announcement of this Durham-based rare earth startup receiving some of this money and their partnership with Re-Element. Those details available over at our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com, with a headline story, Durham Rare Earth Startup receives $1.4 billion in federal investments. We will continue to track the progress and details of this on CarolinaJournal.com.
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Good morning to you.
Well, business does continue to boom across the state of North Carolina, whether it's CNBC ranking North Carolina the number one state for business a couple of times in the past few years, many other surveys causing an explosion in business growth and population growth across the Tar Heel State. Democrat Governor Josh Stein and Republican Labor Commissioner Luke Farley were recently on an international trip to promote North Carolina's growing economy. To walk us through some of those details this morning, Teresa Opaca, CarolinaJournal.com, joins us on the news hour. Teresa, where were Farley and Stein earlier this month? Yes, Nick, thanks for having me.
So they were in. They were in Japan and also Taiwan, promoting the state and why the state is a great place to do business. Governor Stein was. In Asia first. He was in Asia last week promoting all the great ways that these companies, you know, why they should relocate here or not relocate, but locate here.
And Labor Commissioner Farley has been in Taiwan this past week. He made a video statement from the Council of State on Tuesday morning about his exploration over there and promoting, touting the state as well. Yeah, and I mean the growth in North Carolina, Teresa, is pretty substantial. I mean, it's hard to find any major public survey or study that is done that does not have North Carolina in the top couple of spots, whether you're looking at business growth, population growth, people moving. It is a very good time to be in North Carolina.
Of course, that comes with concerns, growth and prices of rents and houses are, of course, going up as a result of that. But it's hard to argue that we're not in a golden age here in North Carolina. Oh, yeah. I mean, you see it all over. As you first mentioned when you came on with being ranked as the number one state for business again this year by CNBC, the third time in the last four years, there's many a reason for that, including the General Assembly cutting the corporate income tax rate.
That's going to be zeroed out in the next few years, cutting Also, the tax rate for people and the personal income tax, being more inviting for businesses. It's just a very, really, really good place to be, especially to be a more business-friendly climate, depending on which side of the aisle you're on.
Now we have the elections behind us, maybe some more people from New York might possibly move down from other different states as well. But yeah, North Carolina definitely has a lot going for it. And both Luke Farley and Governor Stein had very good reasons to tell the state because it just is. It's a great place to live and work.
Well, as you mentioned this trip, the governor being in Japan, one of the major, probably one of the most well known Japanese companies anywhere across the world, Teresa, is Toyota, the major car manufacturer. They've actually got a facility that is planned to open here in North Carolina relatively shortly. That's great news already. Yes, it is. It's the Toyota Battery Manufacturing Plant in Liberty that's near Greensboro that's set to open on November 12th.
The automaker, their total investment in that site is nearly $14 billion and expected to create over 5,000 jobs.
So that's really, really good. That plant is going to feature 14 production lines, including four that are dedicated to supporting battery production for hybrid electric vehicles, and 10 dedicated to supporting battery production for battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid as well.
So, you know, it just goes to show you, you know, if Toyota, major company, it's been here for many, many years, has that confidence in the state, and we want to keep building on that. And that, you know, that's what the governor said. You know, he had like 30 individual meetings with businesses and three speeches to large business groups when he was in Japan. And, you know, hopefully, he's in the next coming weeks, we're going to have some more positive news.
So that's It's great news for North Carolina. And Teresa, while I mentioned before, kind of in a golden age right now, things are really good. You don't have to go back that far to find North Carolina in a very different spot economically. You go back to 2010 and prior to that, the state was not anywhere near the top in the number one state for business, had a very high personal income tax rate in comparison to other states across the Southeast, high business taxes, a whole bunch of debt owed to the federal government. This is hard to argue that this is not anything but a direct result of Republicans taking control of the General Assembly and making the state's tax climate better for business growth.
Oh, yeah, most definitely. And, you know, I talked with Treasurer Brad Briner about a week or two ago, you know, about the Rainy Day Fund. And like you said, you know, at one point, there wasn't a rainy day fund. There was nothing. That was prior to 2010.
They didn't have anything.
So including that, having money to fall back onto, it's responsible leadership by Republicans in the General Assembly who has gotten North Carolina to this point.
So because, yeah, the state wasn't always in great shape, as you noted.
Now, Teresa, let me ask you about this as we wrap up our conversation. International discussions about trades and tariffs, of course, have been a major story. We've been covering it over at Carolina Journal. It's been big international news as well. Do you think some of the discussion about trade wars and tariffs, some of those other things, are maybe why the reasons that Stein and Farley traveled to a couple of countries across Asia to continue to promote North Carolina, essentially saying, hey, regardless of what some of the national coverage is, we're open for business here in the state?
Yeah, I definitely think so. I think they want to, you know, to have the good, build on the good relationships. We even heard, you know, from Governor Stein during the Council of State meeting, or actually after the meeting, told reporters, Japan, he said, it's very much a place of relationship and trust. And a lot of companies have existing locations that are considering expanding into the state.
So why not go over there and expand on that trust? you know, and say, hey, you know, we're open for business. We've got really good climate here, business climate. It's a great place with great workers, with great skill levels, and to keep building on that. And Luke Farley said he made sure to let them know over there.
North Carolina, as he said, is open for business, the number one state in the country. And also number two in workplace safety.
So I think they wanted to build on that relationship of trust. And despite the headlines going on about tariffs and all the back and forth. About it saying, you know, come here because we're going to treat you right. It's a great place to have employees come here and work and come here and live and play. It's a great state.
Teresa, you've got some additional quotes and coverage on these international trips. Where can folks go and get those details? Sure, they can head on over to CarolinaJournal.com. Teresa Opeco joins us this morning on the Carolina Journal News Hour. This is the story of the one.
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Well, the federal government shutdown does continue this morning, and there are some concerns across individuals traveling via air over the next couple of days. As we're learning information from DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, that reduction in air travel will be made at 40 high-volume airports around the country on Friday if the government shutdown does not end. That is according to the Department of Transportation and FAA, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration officials who announced that on Wednesday. The ongoing gridlock, which just broke the 35-day record for the longest shutdown, has already caused some halts and delays on flights going into major airports as they struggle with staffing shortages of air traffic controllers. FAA Administrator Brian Bedford said his agency, quote, can't ignore the problem that the shortages have been causing during a Wednesday press conference.
DOT Secretary Sean Duffy outlined measures the federal government will be taking as the shutdown continues to impact air travel, announcing that there's going to be a 10% reduction in capacity at 40 airport locations.
Now, it is not immediately known as of right now what those 40 locations are. I presume that we'd probably find out some of those details throughout the day today.
However, those restrictions will go into effect on Friday and impact roughly 4,000 flights nationwide per day. The FAA noted that the 40 locations would be high-volume airports. And of course, across the Tarheel State, two major airports come to mind, Charlotte, Douglas and RDU, both of them, Charlotte, a little bit higher volume than RDU, but both, I think, would fall pretty close to that. High-volume category.
So we'll wait and see what happens there. Duffy's announcement came just a day after he warned that DOT may be forced to close certain parts of the airspace should the shutdown continue into the next couple of weeks. Duffy said in a press conference yesterday: The longer this goes on, every day these hardworking Americans have bills they have to pay, and they're being forced to make decisions and choices. Do they go to work as an air traffic controller or do they have to find a different job to get resources, money, and to put food on their table to put gas in their car? As every day goes by, I think the problem is only going to get worse, not better.
He continued and ragged on Senate Democrats in Washington, D.C., saying, quote, if you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos. He said, you will see mass flight delays. You'll see mass cancellations. And you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we can just not manage it because we do not have air traffic controllers. And so, while there have already been some delays and congestion issues at some major airports, including some at Charlotte Douglas and RDU, this is going to be an interesting process to watch fold out if the Senate does not come to some sort of agreement today on passing the clean continuing resolution proposed by Republicans.
We will keep an eye on what those 40 airport locations are and some of the impacts here across North Carolina and the rest of the country. We'll watch that throughout the day and have the latest as we learn it coming up for you tomorrow morning right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now 5:39, News Talk 11:10, 99.3 WBT. Over the last couple of years in North Carolina, there's been some pretty big fights over insurance rates for homeowners, vehicle owners, and various property owners across the Tar Heel State. This morning, we are turning our attention to dwelling insurance and a major hike that is being asked for by the North Carolina Rate Bureau. To walk us through some of those details this morning, Teresa Opeca, CarolinaJournal.com, joins us on the news hour.
Teresa, I guess right off the top here, we should probably go through the difference between dwelling insurance and traditional homeowners' insurance. Those are not the same, correct? Correct. Good morning, Nick. Thanks for having me.
So, dwelling insurance is different because dwelling policies are primarily for non-owner-occupied residences of no more than four units. That includes rental properties, vacation homes, investment properties, and other properties that are not the property owner's primary residence, as opposed to regular homeowner's insurance. And as I mentioned at the open there, Teresa, this is kind of a growing trend that we've seen over the last couple of years. I remember a story that we talked about even earlier this year with the Rate Bureau looking in some coastal counties of raising homeowners' insurance by 99%. This has been a big-time issue for the Rate Bureau, which is also probably important to note, not an official entity within the state of North Carolina, even though its name is the NC Rate Bureau.
Right, right.
So, the NC Rate Bureau, they represent all the different insurance companies in the state. They're not part of the North Carolina Department of Insurance. As you said, they're not related in any way, shape, or fashion for that.
So, what they are looking for is to raise rates on dwelling policies by an average of 68.3% statewide over the next two years. That's a really big hike, not as big as 99%, but that's pretty substantial.
So, the Department of Insurance issued a press release earlier this week with that announcement. And that first proposed statewide increase of 28.5%, again, that's on average, all depends where you are in the state, how that would work. That would take effect July 1st, 2026. The second increase of average 30.9% would take effect on July 1st, 2027. Again, those proposed changes are averages, they vary by territory.
And did get a statement from the Right Bureau who said they reviewed data on tens of thousands of actual insurance claims from 2019 through 2023 to determine the premiums needed to cover risks and bill the request. And the reason they requested the substantial increase is because claim costs have risen substantially. They noted climate change as one of the culprits and said 27 separate billion-dollar disasters hit the U.S. in 2024. That would be an all-time record had it not been for $28 billion disasters that hit in 2023.
They also noted inflation in the construction industry has far outpaced overall inflation in recent years. And some of the fastest-growing areas in North Carolina are coastal areas where storm damage is more common. They singled out Brunswick County as one example of that.
Well, and that's incredibly relevant as you talk about, again, the difference between dwelling and traditional homeowners insurance for people that have their primary residence, Teresa. A lot of folks that own rental properties, well, they happen to be in the coastal areas where folks are vacationing throughout the summer. Oh yeah, yeah.
So it is it is a pretty relevant Um, uh, bit of news here because you've got so many of those that they have those properties.
So, yeah, it'll be quite interesting to see what comes of this. Um, the Wright Bureau says, you know, simply put, severe storm damage is becoming more common, so that's it's becoming more expensive to rebuild. And that last dwelling rate hike request that the Right Bureau made was in July of 2023. They requested an average of 50.6%, but they reached an agreement with the Department of Insurance to raise rates by an average of 8% in May of 2024.
So it, yeah, it's. Everything's going up, right? Including this, but it just seems like they want to really, really increase rates, not by a few percentage points, but by quite a bit. Yeah, and this is something that we have seen for a variety of different pieces of insurance over the last couple of years. And Teresa, while folks might be frustrated with what we're talking about this morning, this is the legal process that plays out in North Carolina.
The Rate Bureau makes this official request to the North Carolina Department of Insurance, and that kicks off a legal process or could kick off a legal process, a public comment period. This is something that typically can take a couple of months, as Mike Cossey, the Commissioner of Insurance, goes back and forth with the Rate Bureau. Right, right.
So, we have in the article two ways that the public can comment. They can either email comments or they can mail them, and they all have to be received by November 19th.
So, if the Department of Insurance doesn't agree with those requested rates after getting all those comments in, they will try to negotiate with the Rate Bureau. And if a settlement can't be reached within about 50 days, they will then hold a hearing. Yes, and we will watch and see if that court proceeding gets to that point. As I'm sure frustration is growing. And, Teresa, I just want to end on this.
We talk about this dwelling insurance. One of the big discussions across the state tends to be a bigger issue in areas that are seeing significant growth is the expense in rent for whether you're talking about an apartment or renting a house from somebody that owns it. You can imagine that if the dwelling insurance goes up for the property owners on this, they're going to pass those costs right along to their renters. Oh, absolutely, because they have to make up the difference, right?
So, yeah, that's going to get passed on. Just because you're renting doesn't mean that you're going to be excluded from this. You can imagine that you are going to see your rates go up from this, however much they are, you know, going to go up. But, yeah, renters are not excluded in this situation. As Teresa mentioned, you can get in on some of the public comment period.
You can either email or send physical mail. We've got all of those details over on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com. The headline story: NC Rate Bureau requests 68-plus percent increase in dwelling insurance. We appreciate the information this morning. Teresa Opeka joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
Yeah. It's 5:52. Good morning again. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 11:10-993 WBT.
Well, coming up here in the next couple of weeks, nothing says joy like a kid getting a new bike for Christmas. That means that it's time for Hancock's Bikes for Kids. Please consider bringing a new bike to WBT on Friday, December 5th. Put that on your calendar Friday, December 5th, from 5 to 9 p.m. The WBT team will be there to thank you for your generous donation as the 32nd annual WBT Hancock Bikes for Kids benefiting kids first of the Carolinas takes place.
It's presented by Garage Door Doctor Friday, December 5th, 5 to 9 p.m. You can visit WBT.com this morning for additional details. It's now 5:33 on the Carolina Journal News Hour, taking a look at some other statewide news this morning. A company in Durham known as Vulcan. Elements, which is a startup that specializes in rare earth minerals, has recently announced a $1.4 billion partnership with the United States government.
That investment will fund the construction, commission, and operation of a 10,000 metric ton magnet facility that is going to be in operation. Vulcan Elements, which, as I noted, is just based in Durham, is partnering with Re-Element Technologies. Those two companies together will scale its 100% vertically integrated domestic magnet supply chain, which is already in operation to produce that 10,000 tons of magnets annually with a focus on recycling end-of-life magnets as well as other portions of electronic waste. The expansion of the production capability will be funded in part by a $620 million loan from the U.S. Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital, that's OSC, as well as a $50 million investment from the United States Department of Commerce that is coming under the Chips and Science Act.
The company will also receive an additional $550 million in private investment for this expansion. Funding for these OSC loans does come from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was passed by. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump earlier this year. Howard Luttnick, who is the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, said in a press release, quote, our investment in Vulcan elements will accelerate U.S.
production of rare earth magnets for American manufacturers. We are laser-focused on bringing critical minerals in rare earth manufacturing back home, ensuring that America's supply chain is strong, secure, and perfectly reliable. The expansion of re-elements recycling and processing capabilities is being fueled by an $80 million loan from OSC with private investments that will match that. The U.S. Department of Commerce will receive $50 million in equity in Vulcan for some of these investments.
Vulcan and Re-Element will collaborate to manage the entire magnetic supply chain from start to finish. Re-Element, which is the company not based in North Carolina, will process end-of-life magnets, electronic waste, and mined and end. mined concentrates into high purity rare earth oxides. Then Vulcan, who is based in Durham, will convert these oxides into high purity rare earth metals and manufactures finished rare earth magnets. Vulcan's products have been independently validated to meet the highest performance standards and its magnets are already in use across critical defense and technology sectors throughout the U.S.
John Malson, who is the CEO of Vulcan Elements, said, quote, as a former Navy officer, I am honored by the trust that the American government and American people have placed in Vulcan Elements.
Now more than ever, we remain focused on the execution and performance so that we can deliver a compatibility that the nation urgently needs. Vulcan Elements and Re-Elements Technologies already have a record of strong collaboration, and I look forward to continuing to work together as we move forward into this next phase of our partnership.
However, not everybody is in favor. Brian Balfour, the vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, says that this is just more crony capitalism, where taxpayer dollars are being used to benefit politically connected corporations. He told the Carolina Journal, quote, government should not be involved in investing in businesses such as a practice resembles central planning. Business investment should be made by voluntary investors in the private sector. You can read some additional details on this partnership and some of these major investments from the United States government this morning by visiting our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
The headline story there: Durham Rare Earth Startup receives $1.4 billion in federal investments. Again, those details at CarolinaJournal.com.
Well, that's going to do it for a Thursday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on News Talk 1110 and 99.3, WBT.
