Senate Bill 208 - Property Insurance Fairness

• Creates the Property Insurance Clarity Act requiring insurers, the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association, and the Joint Underwriting Association to annually submit property insurance data (direct incurred losses, policies in force, earned premiums) to the Department of Insurance by April 1, with aggregated data posted publicly by June 1.

• Grants the Commissioner of Insurance authority to order rate decreases in property insurance rate-making proceedings and establishes a North Carolina Recovery Finance Authority authorized to issue tax-exempt revenue bonds to finance catastrophe-related deficits of the Insurance Underwriting Association, with repayment from catastrophe recovery charges on property insurance policies.

• Reforms "consent to rate" practices for residential property insurance by requiring 30 days' notice and written consent when renewal rates exceed previously consented rates, and requires catastrophe models used in rate filings to be based on multiple models reflecting maximum load designs in State Building Codes.

• Creates a Joint Legislative Study Committee on Property Insurance Rate Making with 10 members to study the Rate Bureau's structure, prevalence of above-promulgated rates charged with consent, and related issues, with interim report due in 2016 and final report in 2017.

• Renames Article 45 references from "Beach Area" to "Coastal" property and updates related terminology.