I can only speak to NC, but the insurance companies have to get permission from the NC Commissioner of Insurance to raise rates, and if they got hosed the past year or two due to hurricane, damnpanic, alien invasion, whatever, and they can’t make make money with the current rate structure, I’d expect them to take drastic measures.
Companies are not OBLIGATED to sell us anything. The bitching and moaning in here about the wicked profiteering is amusing. OF COURSE THEY ARE WICKED PROFITEERS. If you want someone to sell you something as a service to you, find a charity or something.
The way they make money is .... (wait for it).... PAY OUT LESS THAN THEY BRING IN! This means they are going to evaluate YOU to determine if they think you fit into any number of risk categories on which they have lost money in the past. If you do, expect to pay more, or have them say "no thanks" I find this type of infantile nonsense especially amusing among young 20 something males who have totalled two cars, and caused serious injury to others. So far, these clowns have caused, say 40,000 dollars in damages to their own cars and others, and created well over 60,000 in personal injuries, not counting legal fees to defend their idiot selves. Over 100,000 in losses to the companies, and these dunderheads are INDIGNANT that their rates are 300 dollars a month to insure yet another chickmobile,as their egos just won't allow them to drive a beater until the fines go off (we call them "insurance points"). Instead you hear a harrangue on what greedy profiteering monsters the insurance companies are.... never mind that if they paid in over 300 dollars a month, it would take them THIRTY YEARS to come close to breaking even. If you have a large loss on your homeowners, the numbers are even worse.
As
@fieldgrade above stated, there are "limits" to what the insurance commissioner (a politician who oversees rates and makes sure the wicked companies don't gouge people) allows a company to charge. As a result, people show up with disproportionate risks (for homeowners, this is particularly on the coast, with hurricane risks and companies simply say "no thanks.. if we want to throw away money on bad risks, we will just play the lottery." Politicans (and ignorant consumers) really don't believe in MARKETS where risk is priced and companies compete by aggressively pricing so that they can make money rather than the other companies also seeking your business. They believe in the illusion that they PROTECT you from greedy profiteering swindlers, so they set a cap on prices. Whether that is chainsaws after a hurricane, gasoline prices, or insurance prices, they love to play the white knight, and the suckers fall for it (SAVE US, O MIGHTY BENEFICENT GOVERNMENT!!!). So those "limits" make companies walk away. Politicians look bad when that happens. So, they say "hey, you can go ahead and CHARGE MORE THAN IS FAIR (!?!?!?!?!?), BECAUSE NO ONE WILL SELL YOU COVERAGE AT A FAIR PRICE (!?!?!?!?!). You just have to sign this paper saying that we, the insurance commission, labored mightily to save you, but alas, we were unable." It is a ridiculous kabuki dance.
Don't get the idea that I think insurance companies are noble, honest selfless outfits always committed to honesty and decency. In fact, with the larger companies swallowing the smaller ones (Integon, for example was eaten by a NYC based firm, which was take over by Allstate), all of them are corporate in their mentality, which means they are like banks. Do you prefer Wells Fargo over SECU? Then you will like Progressive, State Farm, Allstate, etc. They rely on mechanistic, machine driven models and you are either in or out. There is no debate, because no one you will ever talk to has authority to make any exceptions..... and if they are in a tight spot, expect them to lie like hell and leave you to rot... if they can. The bigger the company, the more likely it is to happen. It is life in America. It is why I prefer NC Farm Bureau, Erie, and a few other smaller companies to insure my assets (I did go lowball on my life insurance and go with an online Prudential policy). Erie is, by and large, an honest company, as is NCFB (who gave me my start in insurance). I don't think ANYONE is like some fiduciary Sister Theresa or something. They have to make money to survive. You would all do better to understand the business model and how they make money than take up some silly accusation that "they are all crooks."
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