Glossary

Rate filing

The package of proposed prices, rating factors and supporting data that an insurer submits to a state regulator before or when it changes its homeowners rates.

Also called: rate and rule filing, rate revision filing, SERFF filing, homeowners rate filing, rate case

A rate filing is how an insurer tells a state insurance department what it intends to charge. It contains base rates, the rating factors that adjust them (territory, construction, protection class, roof age, deductible, and credit-based scores where allowed), discounts and surcharges, the rules for applying them, and actuarial support such as loss experience, trend and catastrophe-model results. Insurers submit filings electronically through SERFF, the NAIC's System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing, and many states let the public search them.

What happens next depends on the state's system: prior approval, file and use, or use and file, compared in the prior approval vs file-and-use guide. A regulator may approve, request changes, or disapprove, and in some states consumers can comment or request a hearing.

An average is not your number. Say a company files an average increase of 9%. A house with an older roof in a high-hail territory could see 15% while a newer house elsewhere sees 5%, because the factors move different policies by different amounts. Reading the public filing can show which factor drove your change. The how insurers file rate increases with regulators guide walks through a typical filing, and the home insurance renewal increase checker helps you work out what to ask when a renewal notice arrives.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

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Related terms

Rate increase A rise in the price an insurer charges per unit of coverage, which is only one of several reasons the premium on your renewal notice can go up. Prior approval A rate-regulation system in which an insurer must have the state regulator approve its proposed rates before it may charge them to policyholders. File and use A rate-regulation system in which an insurer files new rates with the regulator and may start charging them right away or after a short waiting period. Use and file A rate-regulation system in which an insurer may put new rates into effect first and then submit them to the regulator within a set period afterward. Rating territory A geographic area, often a ZIP code or county, that an insurer prices as a unit because losses from weather, fire and theft differ from place to place. Department of insurance The state agency that licenses and supervises insurers and agents, reviews policy forms and rates, and takes consumer insurance complaints.

Related guides

Admitted vs surplus lines home insurers: what you give up Admitted insurers are licensed, file rates and are backed by guaranty funds. Surplus lines carriers take what they decline, usually without those protections. How catastrophe models shape your premium Catastrophe models estimate yearly losses from hurricanes, wildfires and storms. How that output reaches your rate, who checks the models and what you can fix. Construction type and rates: frame, masonry and more How insurers classify frame, masonry veneer and masonry homes, why walls matter for fire and wind, and why a brick house is not always rated as brick. Fire protection class (ISO PPC) and your rate Your fire protection class grades local fire service from 1 to 10. How split classes work, why a hydrant 1,000 feet away matters, and how to find your class. Home insurance industry trends to watch Seven trends shaping homeowners insurance in October 2026: recovering profits, softer reinsurance, shrinking state plans, cat bonds, storm losses and data. Your home insurance premium jumped: what to do Work out whether filed rates, your coverage, your rating factors or lost discounts drove the jump, then fix what you can and shop the rest before renewal.

Related insurers

Benchmark Insurance Company Trean-owned fronting carrier in Wayzata, Minnesota whose homeowners premium comes mostly from Texas policies it issues for the Swyfft homeowners program.

Related tools

Home insurance renewal increase checker Split a homeowners renewal increase into the part from a higher dwelling limit and the rest, with a short list of what to ask and do before renewal.