State Auditor on Rising Home Insurance Rates in Montana

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - One of our most popular Talk Back guests on KGVO is the newly elected State Auditor and Commissioner of Insurance James Brown, who appeared on Tuesday.

Brown was asked a familiar question about home and fire insurance rates that are skyrocketing, due to massive disasters in the south and the west.

State Auditor and Insurance Commissioner James Brown on Fire Insurance

“Outside of property tax, the number one issue that people talked to me about during my campaign was the rising cost of insurance in Montana and across the country,” began Brown. “My agency engages in extensive public outreach to inform people about the rising cost of insurance, and efforts that can be taken by homeowners to find substitute policies or to find more affordable policies.”

Brown told listeners that he has limited authority of what insurance companies can charge for home and business insurance.

Brown said he has No Power to Change Consumer Insurance Rates

“It's a delicate balance for our agency,” he said. “First of all, people need to know that I don't have the authority as state auditor to set a price for these insurance companies when they're offering a policy in Montana. All we can do on the back end is to determine if they are too high and not approved, but we don't have the ability to set what the actual rate is, if you follow, so I'm somewhat limited in my authority.”

On a lighter note, Brown addressed President Trump’s intention to eliminate the penny and perhaps even the nickel, due to the fact that the treasury loses money on each coin.

Brown said President Trump Plans to Stop Making Pennies and Nickels

“In the last month, I've had two different conversations with the White House's government relations folks, and one of those conversations related to President Trump's plans to eliminate the penny in the United States,” he said. “The Trump administration apparently is pretty serious about getting rid of the penny. In fact, during the middle of this past year’s Super Bowl, many of your listeners may recall that President Trump actually posted that he was planning to get rid of the penny, and they're moving forward with that.”

Brown also addressed plans to eliminate the nickel, again due to the cost of production.

“It’s based on the amount it is costing the American taxpayer to make pennies,” he said. “So in 2024, the cost to make an individual penny was 3.7 cents. Believe it or not, last year, the US Mint lost $85 million making pennies, and then lost about $18 million minting nickels. Now the President hasn't indicated that he's going to eliminate the nickel, but $85 million is no small sum to say the least.”

Click here to listen to the entire conversation with our Talk Back guests.