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Greensboro and Guilford County homeowners: A higher bill could be coming your way.

The N.C. Rate Bureau has requested a 13 percent and 11 percent increase, respectively, for homeowners insurance.

But first the proposal has to make it though the N.C. Department of Insurance, which has a history of approving increases that are much lower than what the industry group requests.

The N.C. Rate Bureau requested increases that vary by region, from 1 percent in Mecklenburg County to a nearly 70 percent jump in Wilmington and Jacksonville. Statewide, the group requested an average rate increase of 19.5 percent.

Outgoing N.C. Insurance Commissioner Jim Long said he will make his decision "fairly quickly."

"For over a year we've known that this rate filing was coming and that insurance companies think rates are too low, but that doesn't mean that the increases they've requested will automatically be approved," Long said in a news release.

"Take a look back at the homeowners filings we've gotten over the years, and you'll see that the industry generally asks for higher increases than the Department deems necessary. This filing is no different. We will review the data to determine if the requests are justified."

The Raleigh-based N.C. Rate Bureau files premium rate requests on behalf of the insurance companies who do business in the state, said Ray Evans, the general manager of the organization.

"We think the homeowners' line has been under-priced for quite some period of time," Evans said.

The requested rate is determined by evaluating the potential losses the companies face combined with expenses and a bit of profit, he said.

"We have, every 18 months or so over the last six or seven years, made a filing with the insurance department. Usually the conclusion of that is we think the number ought to be 19.5 percent and we end up with something less than that."

In 2007, when the last change was approved, the industry requested a 21.9 percent increase statewide. A 5.4 increase was approved by the state agency.

In the latest filing, the proposed increase for Alamance, Davidson, Forsyth, Randolph and Guilford counties is 11.2 percent. Rockingham County's proposed increase is 9.2 percent.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Lanita Withers at 373-7071 or lanita.withers@news-record.com