Insurance Rates in Montana Could Jump Up to 28 Percent

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Montana’s State Auditor and Commissioner of Insurance, Jim Brown, dropped a bombshell on our KGVO Talk Back audience on Wednesday, with news about serious rate increases across the board for both home and health insurance.

State Auditor and Insurance Commissioner Warns of Serious Rate Increases

“Unfortunately, I come on the air today with some bad news for Montanans, particularly those who get their insurance through the federal marketplace,” began Commissioner Brown. “As you know, one of my roles as the Commissioner of Insurance, as tasked by the legislature, is to educate consumers in the industry on insurance matters. So that's what I'm here to do.”

Brown said in less than a week, Montanans will be getting the bad news about insurance rate increases that he can do nothing about.

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Brown Said the Numbers will Officially be Released on August 13

“On August 13, our agency will be releasing what the premium numbers are for plans on the federal marketplace through the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “I'm sorry to say that the ranges for increases will be anywhere from 7 percent to maybe up to 28 percent for those on the marketplace.”

Brown provided a brief look at past and future insurance rate increases.

Montana had the Fifth Fastest Increase in Rates in 2024

“From 2012 to 2022, the percentage increase in Montana's insurance premium, as tracked by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, of which I'm a member, has outpaced a national increase in rates, increasing twice as fast as the national average in five of those 10 years,” he said. “And for property insurance, which is a little bit different, we had the fifth fastest increase in rates in the nation in 2024, and so what's happening is that not only are consumers getting hit on the health insurance side, but also on the homeowners insurance side.”

Brown explained how his agency receives and passes on the bad news about upcoming insurance rate increases.

Brown said He has No Power to Make Insurance Companies Lower Their Rates

“What we do is we get notified by the insurance companies that offer plans through the ACA (Affordable Care Act) marketplace as to what they're asking for in premium increases, and then we get a copy of that filing as Montana, but then also the feds, through entity called CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) get a copy of that filing, and ultimately, it's the Feds that are the ones that that actually look at whether the premium increases are justified.”

Brown invited readers of this story to visit the CSI website to get more details about the upcoming increases in both health and home casualty insurance.