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HB 356

An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in terms and courses of study, further providing for youth suicide awareness and prevention and providing for violence prevention and social inclusion.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Tim Briggs and 23 co-sponsors

HB 356 allows insurers to offer certain value-added, loss-mitigation and wellness services at no/low cost, if criteria are objective, cost-reasonable, non-discriminatory, and docum

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Bill Summary · HB 356

Summary — HB 356: Permitted Trade Practices / Insurance Rebates

Status: Committee Substitute Favorable (Second Edition). Introduced in 2025. Subject: Commerce / Insurance.

Purpose and intent

HB 356 clarifies and modernizes North Carolina’s anti‑rebate rules in the Insurance Code by (1) preserving the longstanding prohibition on premium rebates while (2) explicitly authorizing certain “value‑added” products, services, promotions, gifts and pilot programs offered by insurers or producers when objective criteria are met. The bill is intended to allow insurers to offer loss‑mitigation, health, wellness and other risk‑reducing services without those offerings being treated as prohibited unlawful rebates.

Key provisions / statutory changes

  • Repeals G.S. 58‑63‑15(8)b.4 and G.S. 58‑63‑16 (removes older text that conflicted with the clarified exceptions).
  • Rewrites G.S. 58‑63‑15(8) (the “Rebates” subsection) to add specific, enumerated exceptions that are not considered unlawful rebates when offered in conformity with the bill.
  • Authorizes insurers, producers, or their employees/affiliates/third‑party representatives to offer value‑added products or services at no cost or reduced cost when ALL of the following apply:
    • The product/service relates to insurance coverage and is primarily designed to achieve one or more goals such as loss mitigation/control, reducing claim costs, risk education, risk monitoring/assessment, enhancing health, enhancing financial wellness, providing post‑loss services, incentivizing healthier behavior, or assisting administration of employer/retiree benefit plans.
    • The cost to the insurer/producer is reasonable relative to the customer’s premiums or coverage (by policy class).
    • Customers are given contact information for the product/service provider.
    • Availability is based on documented objective criteria and offered without unfair discrimination; the documentation must be retained and produced to the Department of Insurance on request.
  • Pilot/testing exception: if an insurer/producer has a good‑faith belief the offering meets the criteria but lacks full evidence, it may run a pilot (≤ 1 year). The insurer must notify the Department of Insurance before starting; the Department may object within 21 days.
  • Noncash gifts/charitable donations: permitted if offered in connection with marketing/sale/retention, not discriminatory, not conditioned on purchase, and do not exceed $250 per policy term.
  • Drawings/raffles: permitted where lawfully allowed, free to enter, not contingent on buying insurance, open to public, and prizes ≤ $250.
  • Advertising restriction: prohibits using “free,” “no cost,” or similar language to describe insurance or as inducement to buy another policy.
  • Harmonizes the anti‑rebate provisions with G.S. 58‑33‑85 (prohibitions on rebates and premium surcharges).

Who is affected

  • Insurers and insurance producers operating in North Carolina — they gain clearer, explicit authority to offer many loss‑mitigation and customer‑facing services, subject to documentation and reasonableness requirements.
  • Policyholders, potential policyholders and beneficiaries — may obtain access to risk‑reducing programs, wellness/financial education, post‑loss services, and modest noncash incentives.
  • North Carolina Department of Insurance — gains a supervisory role to review documentation and may object to pilot programs within 21 days.
  • Regulators and compliance staff — will need to track, document and retain objective criteria, cost‑reasonableness analyses, and maintain records for Department review.

Compliance, limitations and consumer protections

  • All offerings must be non‑discriminatory and based on documented objective criteria.
  • Dollar limits on noncash gifts and raffle/prize values are set at $250 per policy term.
  • The general prohibition against premium rebates remains in force — the bill creates narrowly defined exceptions rather than abolishing the anti‑rebate rule.
  • The Department can request documentation and object to pilot programs in a short timeframe (21 days).

Procedural / timeline notes

  • As of the latest Committee Substitute (Second Edition) the bill was reported favorable by committee (May 6, 2025). (Readers should consult the legislative docket for current status and final enactment dates.)

Potential impacts

  • Market: Enables insurers to deploy programs that reduce losses and claims, potentially lowering long‑run claim costs and improving consumer risk outcomes.
  • Consumers: Increased availability of loss‑control, wellness and educational services; modest promotional incentives.
  • Regulatory/administrative: Additional recordkeeping and potential review workload for insurers and the Department of Insurance; no large fiscal effects are apparent from the text.

If you want, I can: (a) extract the precise statutory language changes for insertion into compliance manuals, (b) draft model documentation templates insurers should keep to satisfy the “documented objective criteria” requirement, or (c) prepare a short one‑page guidance note for producers describing permitted practices under the bill.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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