2024 North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Race: Meet the Candidates of Choice

One of the challenges of a swing state is that presidential campaigns in North Carolina tend to draw a lot of attention, to the detriment of other important statewide elections that don’t get as much attention. In an ongoing series, we’ll break down the statewide races here WUNC Politics Podcastand in the WUNC Politics Newsletter.

Republican incumbent Mike Causey is seeking a third term as North Carolina insurance commissioner but faces a challenge from Democrat Natasha Marcus, who has represented Mecklenburg County in the state Senate for three terms. These two will compete against each other in the vote for the statewide seat on the State Council.

What does the insurance commissioner do?

The insurance commissioner has the final say on whether insurance companies can increase the rates you pay for home and auto insurance. And this year’s election for the position comes amid a proposed 42% increase in average homeowners insurance premiums. The commissioner oversees the agency’s insurance fraud and consumer protection work.

Whether it’s Causey or Marcus, the next insurance commissioner will likely be heavily involved in the recovery and rebuilding efforts in Western North Carolina following the devastation caused by Helene. In a candidate forum earlier this month, Marcus used Helene to draw a contrast with Causey.

“Climate change is real; we should admit it and address it. “My opponent and his party refuse to do that,” Marcus said. “More storms (like this) will come. North Carolina is particularly at risk.”

Both candidates agree that more homeowners need access to flood insurance in the wake of Western North Carolina’s flooding — and that the maps and data used to make insurance decisions are often outdated or inaccurate.

Who is Mike Causey?

Causey, 74, is an Army veteran who has worked in the insurance industry for more than two decades, including as an agency owner. He is a native of Guilford County and holds an MBA from High Point University.

Causey says he has increased the agency’s law enforcement resources to crack down on insurance fraud. Occasionally there were arguments between him and his Republican colleagues in the state parliament, who voted in 2023 to strip him of the role of state firefighter. Causey faced two main rivals – Andrew Marcus and C. Robert Brawley – but won with 60.6% of the vote.

Who is Natasha Marcus?

Marcus, 55, has a law degree from Duke University and lives in Davidson. She is an attorney and community leader who currently serves on the Senate Committee on Insurance Affairs.

After losing a race for a seat in the state House of Representatives in 2014, she was elected to the state Senate in 2018 and was re-elected by wide margins in 2020 and 2022. In the Democratic primary for Insurance Commissioner, she defeated David Wheeler by a margin of over 77% of the vote.

What do Causey and Marcus say about the election?

Causey says he opposes the current proposal to increase homeowners’ insurance rates, noting that he has negotiated with insurance companies in the past to obtain smaller increases than they originally proposed.

“We reached agreements (on proposed rate increases) that were as close to zero as we could possibly get under the economic circumstances,” Causey says. “And so, for example, in one of the car settlements, the industry asked for a flat 30% increase, and we ended up negotiating a settlement of 9% spread over two years.”

But Marcus says that’s the wrong approach and the negotiated increases are putting a strain on consumers. In her opinion, the Commissioner should hold public hearings on rate increases more often.

“There is no public record of what is being discussed there (in the negotiations). We don’t know how many winks are exchanged,” says Marcus. “We know that the same insurance companies’ PACs and their top executives are funding Mike Causey’s campaigns, and that really makes me believe that all is not well. We cannot trust him to give us the best deal for North Carolina consumers.”

For more on Mike Causey, Natasha Marcus and the 2024 North Carolina Insurance Commissioner race, click here: Read & Subscribe the WUNC politics newsletter and listen to full conversations with them the WUNC politics podcast.