How We Research Insurance Rates

Methodology — last updated July 2026

Every rate range, discount claim, and coverage recommendation on CarRateHub is anchored in public, verifiable sources or in first-party research the editorial team conducted. This page documents where the numbers come from and how we decide what to publish.

Sources we use

• State insurance department filings. Every US state publishes carrier rate filings that describe how insurers change premiums for defined driver profiles. When a rate change is public and material, it feeds into our state and carrier commentary.
• Public complaint indexes. The NAIC Consumer Information Source and individual state DOIs publish complaint counts per insurer per line of business. We use those to describe carrier service reputations qualitatively, not to score insurers.
• Insurer product disclosures. Public policy forms, endorsement wordings, and coverage explanation documents from insurers themselves. When we describe what "comprehensive coverage" pays for, we are describing what the standard policy form says.
• Independent industry research. Nonprofit and academic work (Insurance Research Council, III, university transportation centers) is cited where it materially shapes a range we publish.
• Comparison-site benchmarks. To ground national and state averages, we cross-reference publicly reported benchmark methodology from established comparison sites and adjust for known biases (e.g., selection into their quoting funnel).

Why we publish ranges, not exact rates

Individual auto insurance rates depend on dozens of variables the driver never sees: credit tier, insurance score, ZIP-level loss experience, prior carrier tenure, and how each insurer weights those factors in a proprietary rating algorithm. Publishing "the average driver pays $X" implies precision that does not exist. Publishing a range communicates the shape of the market honestly.

The typical range we cite for a state or profile represents what a benchmark driver — mid-30s, clean record, mid-tier credit, one mid-priced sedan — would see across four to six mainstream carriers, drawn from public filings and cross-checked against comparison-site benchmarks. If your profile differs materially, expect your actual quotes to fall outside our range in either direction.

What we do not do

• Accept payment for favorable coverage. Insurers and comparison partners do not review or approve editorial content before publication. Advertisers cannot change our recommendations.
• Rank insurers by editorial score. We describe what carriers do well and where they get criticized, but we do not publish a "best insurer" ranking. Best is a function of your ZIP, profile, and preferences.
• Publish rates without a source. If we cannot point to a public filing, a nonprofit research paper, or a first-party analysis, we describe the pattern qualitatively rather than invent a number.

Editorial workflow

Guides go through the following stages before publication:

1. Topic research. Editors identify the specific question the guide answers and the sources that shape a defensible answer.
2. Draft. Written by the assigned editor listed in the byline.
3. Rate check. Any specific rate range, discount percentage, or timeline is cross-referenced against a second source by our research lead.
4. Fact check. Claims about state law, coverage requirements, and carrier practice are verified against primary sources.
5. Editing. Managing editor edits for clarity, structure, and voice.
6. Publication. Live with a byline and an "Updated" timestamp.
7. Review cycle. Every guide is reviewed at least every 12 months, or immediately when a material regulatory change hits.

Corrections policy

If you find an error in a guide, please email [email protected]. We evaluate every correction request. When a material error is confirmed, we correct the content, update the "Updated" timestamp, and note the correction date. Non-material tweaks are made silently as part of routine review.

Contact

Questions about our methodology? Email [email protected]. Meet the people behind the guides on the editorial team page.