How to read a car insurance rate filing on SERFF

SERFF is the NAIC's System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing, the electronic mailbox through which insurers send their rates and rules to state regulators. Its public side, SERFF Filing Access, lets anyone search a state's filings, open one, and download the pieces. A filing is readable by a patient non-actuary if you go in a fixed order: the summary of the requested change, then the actuary's memorandum, then the rate pages, then the correspondence and the final disposition.

Two limits shape everything below. What the public can see differs by state and by filing, and some parts of a filing may be withheld as confidential. And a filing shows an insurer's formula, not your premium, because your premium also depends on your own driver, car and ZIP code. Read as an explanation of why a company wants a change, a filing is the best primary document a driver can get.

What SERFF is, and what a "filing" contains

The NAIC built SERFF so that an insurer can submit one electronic package to a state instead of mailing binders. The NAIC's own glossary defines a filing as a package of information sent from an insurance company to a state rate and form filing review department. According to the SERFF glossary, the package holds one or more schedules, including a Supporting Documentation schedule, plus notes from the insurer. The state reviewer may add notes, objection letters and a disposition as responses. All of those pieces together make up the filing.

Filings come in types: rate, rule, form, advertisement, or a "multi" filing that combines types, such as rates and rules. A personal auto rate increase is usually a rate filing or a rate and rule filing. A filing that only revises the policy contract language is a form filing and has no rate data in it.

Each filing gets a SERFF tracking number. That number is the key you use to find the exact filing again, so copy it down when you find it. Some state search pages list it in their results (Texas's does, as of November 2026), which saves you from hunting for it on the SERFF site.

Finding the filing: a step-by-step route

The public portal is run on the NAIC's system, but each state decides what to expose through it and often adds its own search page on top. Four state pages show the range. The Texas Department of Insurance offers a searchable table of personal auto and homeowners filings, and you search by the exact company name on your policy or billing statement, not the agency that sold it. The Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance walks through the SERFF Public Access screens. Washington's Office of the Insurance Commissioner links to SERFF Filing Access and takes a public disclosure request if you cannot find or download a filing. California requires property and casualty rate applications to be filed through SERFF and also keeps its own rate filing search and public viewing rooms.

Here is a route that works in most states:

1. Start on your state insurance department's rate filing page and use its search if it has one, because it often shows the percent change and the SERFF ID before you ever touch SERFF.
2. If you go to SERFF Filing Access directly, choose your state, accept the user agreement and pick a business type. Georgia's instructions note that the business type is a required field.
3. Narrow the search. Pick property and casualty, then the private passenger auto line, and enter the insurer name exactly as it appears on your declarations page. Insurance groups file under several legal company names, so try each one.
4. Sort by date. Your insurer may have filed several times in a year, and the one that touches your renewal is the one with an effective date that matches it.
5. Open the filing and read the General Information tab first: the filing type, the review method, the dates and the status.
6. Download everything. Georgia's page describes selecting all items in the attachments section and downloading a zip file, then using the PDF bookmarks to find the disposition page.
7. Write down the SERFF tracking number so you can find it again or hand it to the department with a question.

If a filing you expect does not show, the cause is usually one of three: the company is filed under a different legal name, the filing has not reached a stage the state publishes, or the state does not publish that type of filing online. Ask the department.

The anatomy of a filing

You will not read every page. You need to know what each part is for, so you can open the right one.

The structured fields are not just a courtesy. The NAIC's SERFF Industry Manual (2020 edition; screens may have changed since) says that on the property and casualty Rate/Rule schedule the filer enters an overall percentage indicated change when an actuarial indication is included, an overall percentage rate impact, the written premium change for the program, and the number of policyholders affected. Those four fields are the fastest way to see the size of a request.

The first numbers to find: indicated change versus rate impact

Open the summary of the Rate/Rule schedule, or the page labelled Rate Information in the downloaded PDF, and look for two percentages that people confuse.

Overall indicated change is what the insurer's own analysis says it needs. Overall rate impact is what it is actually asking to charge, as a statewide average change to the rates. The two are often different, because insurers frequently ask for less than the full indication, spread an increase over several filings, or cap what any one customer will pay.

Here is a hypothetical, with numbers made up for this article. Say a filing shows an indicated change of +14.0%, a proposed rate impact of +9.0%, 480,000 policyholders affected and $620 million of current written premium. The requested premium change is about $55.8 million (9.0% of $620 million). Spread over 480,000 policyholders, the average current premium is about $1,292, so the average increase is about $116 per policyholder per year. Three conclusions follow: the insurer is asking for about two-thirds of what its own analysis supports, an individual's change will be higher or lower than $116, and the $116 is an average dollar figure, not a quote.

The Texas Department of Insurance says the same about its own table. Its "Percent Change" column is the estimated impact of the rate change on existing policyholders, and impacts could be higher or lower for any policyholder depending on changes to specific factors. A blank or 0% figure means only rules, or something else that does not affect premium, changed, or that the overall impact is zero.

One more trap sits in the Georgia department's instructions. It notes that the figures on the Rate Information page often differ from those in the disposition, because of issues that arise during review. So the requested figure is not the approved figure. Always read the disposition page, and if there are several, take the one with the most recent date.

Loss trend and the other assumptions in the memorandum

The actuarial memorandum (some states call it a filing memorandum) is the part that explains the indicated change, and it is where most of the judgment lives. You do not need to redo the math. You need to know the six moving parts and check whether each is explained or only asserted.

• Experience period. The years of past premium and claims the actuary used, usually the most recent two to five years, with a note on how much weight each year gets.
• Loss development. Claims are not all known or paid when the data is cut off. The actuary projects the final cost of open claims using either paid claims, incurred claims (paid plus case reserves), or both. Which method is used moves the answer, especially on bodily injury, where claims take years to settle.
• Loss trend. The expected change in the cost of claims between the experience period and the period the new rates will be in force. It is built from claim frequency (how often) and severity (how much each), and it is often the largest driver of an indicated increase. Parts costs, medical costs, litigation and miles driven all feed it. The article on loss ratios and rate filings explains how an insurer connects those costs to a rate.
• Premium trend. The change in average premium per car, because a trend in claim costs matters only relative to the premium collected.
• Expenses and profit. Commissions, overhead, taxes and the profit and contingencies provision the insurer builds into the rate. California's prior approval rules, for example, treat institutional advertising (advertising that does not seek business for a specific insurer) specially rather than letting it flow into rates.
• Credibility. How much weight the insurer's own data gets compared with a broader benchmark when its book is small.

A real case shows what scrutiny of these parts looks like. In 2024, 21st Century Insurance filed an auto rate application in California seeking an overall increase of 18.37%. A consumer group that petitioned to challenge it described, in a request for compensation that the California Department of Insurance posts on its intervenor page, what it questioned: a 12-point trend period applied to every coverage and supported in the filing memorandum by a short statement about balancing responsiveness and stability, the choice of incurred rather than paid claim development on bodily injury, and whether enough of the advertising budget had been classed as institutional and left out of the rate. That is the intervenor's account, and the company answered with its own analysis. The point for a reader is the kind of question a filing invites: why this trend, why this development method, why these expenses. Our companion article on rate hearings and intervenors covers how that case ended.

Rate pages: base rates, class factors and territory relativities

The rate pages are where an abstract percentage turns into dollars. Most auto rating plans multiply a base rate by a series of factors, coverage by coverage. The base rate is a starting dollar figure for a standard risk in a standard territory. Factors then adjust it for the territory, the driver's class (age, years licensed, record), the vehicle, the deductible or limit chosen, and any discounts. Our guide on how rates are calculated explains the logic, and the glossary entries for rating factors and territory rating define the terms.

Territory relativities are the factors in the territory table. They say how much more or less than the base territory the insurer charges for a given area. Read them as a ladder: compare territory 4 to territory 1, not either to a dollar figure, because the dollar figure depends on the base rate.

A hypothetical shows how the pieces combine. Say the collision base rate is $310. Your territory factor is 1.20, your driver class factor is 0.95, your vehicle symbol factor is 1.10 and your deductible factor is 0.85. Multiply them: $310 x 1.20 x 0.95 x 1.10 x 0.85 comes to about $330 a year for collision. Now say the filing raises base rates by 9% and changes nothing else. The base becomes about $337.90 and every factor stays the same, so your collision premium becomes about $360, up 9%. If instead the filing leaves the base alone and raises your territory factor from 1.20 to 1.30, your change is about 8.3%, and drivers in other territories see none. Two filings with the same statewide average can land very differently on different people, which is why the factor tables matter.

Some filings change only base rates. In the California case above, the insurer told the department it proposed "only base rate changes by coverage" and no other changes. Others rework the whole structure, with new tiers, new territory boundaries or new vehicle symbols. When a filing changes factors, compare the old and new pages side by side and pay attention to the ones that apply to you. For discount rules specifically, see reading a rate filing to see how big a discount really is.

Status and disposition: what the labels mean

SERFF tracks a filing through statuses, and the vocabulary is shared even though the outcomes depend on state law. The SERFF glossary lists them:

"Disposition" is the state's final action, and states choose their own words for it. The Texas Department of Insurance, for example, shows a closed filing as Rejected (technical problems such as the wrong line of business or too little information), Reviewed (the department reviewed and closed it) or Withdrawn (the insurer pulled it, for reasons such as needing more time to answer questions or wanting to refile at a different rate).

Two points of caution. First, "filed" and "approved" are not the same thing. In a prior approval state the insurer generally cannot use new rates until the regulator approves them. In a file-and-use state the insurer may start using a rate once it is filed, subject to the regulator's later review. The label on the disposition reflects which system applies. The article on prior approval versus file-and-use compares the two. Second, a disposition is not always final. Michigan's Department of Insurance and Financial Services warns that a filing without a final disposition may change during review, and that in some situations changes may be made after a final disposition is issued, so it suggests checking back.

The correspondence is the most underrated part. An objection letter tells you what a regulator pushed on, and the response tells you whether the insurer defended or changed its position. The Texas Department of Insurance reported in April 2025 that its actuarial staff reviewed 2,343 rate filings in 2024, rejected 132 for technical reasons, saw another 174 withdrawn, and had questions or asked for more information on 77% of the filings. A filing with a long exchange before closing is not a bad sign. It is the review working.

What you will not see

The public record is incomplete by design. The first gap is confidentiality. The SERFF Industry Manual describes a confidentiality option that lets a filer request that the whole filing, or only parts of it, be kept out of public access, and says the state reserves the option to override the request. Texas says its search results will not show certain documents within a filing if they are marked confidential. The second gap is timing. The South Dakota Division of Insurance says its public access covers rate and form filings that have received final disposition, and the Michigan department shows filings that are still open but warns they may change. Other states draw the line elsewhere.

California stands apart on the first point. Insurance Code section 1861.07, as published on California.Public.Law, says all information provided to the commissioner under the rate article is available for public inspection, and it sets aside the usual public-records and confidentiality exemptions. That is a California rule under Proposition 103. Do not assume it elsewhere. If your state treats a document as confidential, you can still ask the department what it can release, and the Washington example shows the formal route: a public disclosure request.

A filing also will not show you your own premium, your own tier placement, or the data on which an insurer scored you. For that, ask the insurer for your rating details and compare it to the rate pages. Your state department of insurance can tell you which documents it holds and which it can release.

A 30-minute reading routine

For a filing you care about, a disciplined first pass takes about half an hour:

1. Read the filing description and cover letter. Note whether it is rates only and what the effective dates are.
2. Find the overall indicated change, overall rate impact, policyholders affected and written premium change. Do the division: premium change divided by policyholders gives the average dollars.
3. Find the disposition and its date. If the filing is still open, note that the numbers can move.
4. Open the memorandum and find the loss trend table. Write down frequency, severity and the total trend, then read the sentence that justifies it.
5. Check the loss development method for the biggest coverages, usually bodily injury and collision.
6. Open the rate pages. Compare the old and new base rates for each coverage, then the territory and class factors that match your profile.
7. Read the objection letters and responses. Note every point where the insurer changed a number.
8. Write down two questions you could not answer. Send those to the department, not to the insurer.

This routine is not a verdict on whether a rate is fair. That judgment belongs to the regulator and, in some states, to the public through a hearing process. It will tell you whether the request rests on explained assumptions or on assertions.

Common questions

Can I look up my own insurer's current rates?

Often, yes, if your state publishes filings. Search for the insurer's legal company name and the personal auto line, and open the filing with the latest effective date before your renewal. You will see the rate pages that were approved or filed, but you will need your own profile and the factor tables to work out a premium. The renewal rate increase checker helps compare a renewal change to the size of filed changes.

Why can't I find a filing I know exists?

The usual reasons are a different legal company name, a state that publishes only closed filings, or a filing type the state does not release. Georgia's page invites you to contact its office for help finding a filing, and Washington accepts a public disclosure request. Ask the department by phone or in writing, and give the SERFF tracking number if you have it.

Does a filing's approval mean the rate is fair?

It means the filing met the state's standard under that state's review system. In many states that standard is whether rates are excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory, and how closely the regulator looks depends on whether the state uses prior approval or file-and-use. The rate approval guide explains the differences, and the filing-to-renewal timeline shows how long it takes an approved change to reach your bill.

Is the percent change in a filing what my premium will change by?

No. It is a statewide or program average. Your own change depends on which factors apply to you, and the same filing can raise one driver's premium by far more than the headline and another's by far less. Your renewal notice and the rate pages are what tell you your number.

Key takeaways

• SERFF Filing Access is the public window into state rate filings, but each state decides what it publishes and when, and some documents may be marked confidential.
• Start with the summary fields, the overall indicated change, the overall rate impact, the policyholders affected and the written premium change, and then read the disposition, since the requested figure and the final one often differ.
• The actuarial memorandum shows the assumptions behind a request: loss trend, loss development, expenses and credibility. A thin justification for a large assumption is where scrutiny belongs.
• Rate pages turn the percentage into dollars through base rates, territory relativities and class factors, so two filings with the same average can affect different drivers very differently.
• Check the regulator's own filing search for your state and ask the department when something is missing. Rules differ, and the state car insurance requirements lookup and your state insurance department are the places to confirm yours.