Insurers want a raise

The state's insurance companies want to raise auto insurance rates.

The North Carolina Rate Bureau, which represents auto insurance companies, has requested a 1.4 percent increase of the statewide average for 2009.

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin will review the request before he sets the state's rates, his office announced in a news release. The industry is currently fighting in court over a rate cut ordered by former Insurance Commissioner Jim Long who cut rates by 16.1 percent. 

If Goodwin and the insurers cannot agree on a rate, Goodwin will call for a hearing on the issue. The last hearing ended with the insurers taking the state to court. They disputed Long's cut and instead raised rates by 9.4 percent, according to Goodwin's release. 

The difference between what Long ordered and the rate insurers are charging has been placed in an account. The money would be paid to insurance customers if the state wins the court case, Goodwin said.