The office of Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown was able to save Montanans more than $18 million in Fiscal Year 2025-2026 by denying insurance rate increases, according to an announcement by Brown’s office.
According to the announcement, 127,855 Montana insurance consumers were saved a total of $18,459,920 from July 1 of last year to June 30 by the canceled rate increases.
“Increasing insurance rates are part of the rising cost of living felt by many Montanans,” Brown said in a press release. “Consequently, I’m proud of the work my dedicated team here at the state auditor’s office has done to protect Montanans’ pocketbooks.”
In FY 2025-2026, Brown’s office and the Montana State Auditor’s office reviewed 3,937 rate filings. The volume of rate filings is not controlled by the agency, but rather, by insurers’ business needs, regulatory requirements and market conditions.
Performance metrics show that during Brown’s 18 months as Montana’s insurance commissioner, his agency has denied more than $24 million in unjustified rate hikes, according to the announcement.
“Montanans deserve to know what exactly their state government is accomplishing with their tax dollars,” Brown added. “My office is glad to report that we’re saving consumers money, cracking down on fraud, and informing vulnerable persons about modern scam risks and schemes.”