· 3 min read
Introducing the Evermont library and blog
A free reference on how insurance rate, rule and form filings work, and a blog on regulatory changes, filing market notes and practical how-tos.
25 pages
Regulation and markets
7 pagesHow insurance is regulated in the US
Why US insurance is regulated by the states, what insurance departments and the NAIC do, where federal law reaches in, and what it means for multistate filers.
8 min readAdmitted and non-admitted (surplus lines) insurers
What being admitted means, how the surplus lines market works, the federal home-state rule for surplus lines, and when a rate or form filing is needed.
8 min readPrior approval, file-and-use and use-and-file
The main state rate regulation systems for property and casualty insurance, how deemer provisions work, and how to find which system applies.
7 min readRate standards: excessive, inadequate, unfairly discriminatory
The three statutory rate standards in state rating laws, what each means in practice, how regulators test them, and what a rate filing must show to meet them.
8 min readCommercial lines filing exemptions and large-account deregulation
Why states relax rate and form filing for large commercial insureds, how exempt policyholder tests work, what stays required and how to confirm one applies.
8 min readResidual markets: FAIR plans, assigned risk and state pools
How FAIR plans, auto assigned risk plans, workers' compensation pools and state insurers work, how their rates are filed, and why filers watch them.
8 min readThe Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission (Compact)
How the Insurance Compact works: products covered, uniform standards, filing through SERFF, member states and opt-outs, and when it suits filers.
7 min read
Filing basics
11 pagesWhat is SERFF?
How the NAIC's System for Electronic Rates & Forms Filing works: who uses it, how a filing is structured, and what the public can see.
7 min readRate, rule and form filings: what's the difference
What rate, rule and form filings each cover, when a change needs a combination filing, and how SERFF type of insurance codes classify a filing.
7 min readState filing requirements and checklists
Where state rate and form filing requirements come from, why missing items drive rejections and objections, and how to build and maintain a checklist.
7 min readForm filings: what regulators check
What state reviewers check in P&C policy form filings: statutory consistency, readability, redlines, form numbering, variable language and common objections.
7 min readConfidentiality and trade secrets in rate and form filings
When rate and form filings become public, how filers request trade secret treatment in SERFF and with states, what tends to qualify, and good practice.
7 min readSERFF tracking numbers explained
What a SERFF tracking number is made of, how it differs from the state and company tracking numbers on a filing, and how to find a filing with it.
6 min readSERFF type of insurance (TOI) codes
How SERFF's TOI and sub-TOI codes work, the property and casualty codes in NAIC's 2026 Uniform Product Coding Matrix, and how to choose the right one.
6 min readSERFF filing fees: what filers pay and to whom
The two charges on a SERFF filing, NAIC's transaction fee and any state filing fee, how each is paid, and where to check what a state charges.
5 min readAre insurance rate filings public?
When rate and form filings become public under state law, where to find them online, what states withhold, and how to request filings that are not online.
5 min readDoes SERFF have an API?
What SERFF offers for system integration, why public SERFF Filing Access data has no API or bulk download, and the options for researching many filings.
5 min readInsurance filing glossary
Plain definitions of the terms used in property and casualty rate, rule and form filings, SERFF and state rate review.
8 min read
Rate filings
4 pagesPlanning a rate change: from indication to effective date
The steps from a rate indication to a rate in force: approvals, building and sequencing filings, review, implementation, effective dates and renewal notice.
8 min readThe actuarial memorandum in a rate filing
What the actuarial memorandum in a P&C rate filing contains, the actuarial standards behind it, what reviewers test and where memos fall short.
8 min readWhat goes in a rate filing: the standard exhibits
The parts of a P&C rate filing in SERFF: transmittal fields, rate and rule pages, explanatory and actuarial memoranda, exhibits and certifications.
7 min readAdvisory organizations, loss costs and loss cost multipliers
How advisory organizations file prospective loss costs, how insurers turn them into rates with a loss cost multiplier, and how deviations are filed.
7 min read
Review and objections
3 pagesInside a state insurance department: how filings are reviewed
Who reviews rate and form filings at a state insurance department, what they check, what affects timing, and how to work with reviewers.
8 min readSERFF objections: how they work and how to answer them
How state objections arrive in SERFF, how to build and submit a response to an objection letter, common themes, and how to write a response that closes it.
9 min readRate hearings, intervenors and public input
When states hold hearings on rate filings, how public notice and comment work, California's Proposition 103 intervenor process, and how filers prepare.
7 min read
From the blog
All posts →· 5 min read
How to read a competitor's rate filing in SERFF
Where to look in another carrier's public SERFF rate filing, what to extract from it, and the cautions that apply when you use it as research.
· 6 min read
Why rate filings draw objections, and how to pre-empt them
The common reasons regulators object to P&C rate filings, what reviewers are looking for in each case, and a short checklist to run before you submit.