The Mileage Line on Your Renewal, and the Notice Behind It

A renewal packet is mostly numbers you have seen before. The mileage figure is one that can quietly change, and because mileage is the second of California's three mandatory rating factors, it is one of the lines worth reading first.

The rule behind the change

10 CCR 2632.5(c)(2)(B) covers renewals. It does three things:

1. It requires the insurer, at least every three years, to ask the policyholder for the estimated annual miles.
2. It lets the insurer rate the renewal on the mileage figure from the expiring policy, or on a reasonable objective estimate.
3. It requires written notice, before the renewal, that highlights the mileage figure for the expiring policy and the mileage figure for the renewal policy.

The point of the notice is that a change should never be invisible. If your renewal is built on a different number, the insurer has to show you both.

Why a figure might move

There are ordinary reasons. You may have answered a mileage request differently from last time. The insurer may have used an objective estimate drawn from the information it is allowed to use, such as recent odometer readings or smog-check records. Or a change you reported mid-term may now be carried into the renewal. None of these is improper in itself. What matters is whether the new figure describes the next twelve months of your driving, because that forecast is what the factor measures, not last year's total.

How to read the notice

• Find both figures, expiring and renewal, for each vehicle. They are listed per car, not per household.
• Compare each with what the car actually does: take today's odometer reading and one from about a year ago, from a service invoice or a smog-check record.
• Check that the right figure sits on the right car. A commuter car and a weekend car swapped on paper look like a mileage error.

Correcting it before the renewal starts

If the renewal figure is too high, contact the company before the renewal date with your own estimate and the information behind it: your commute distance and days, your pleasure driving, and recent odometer readings. The regulation lets an insurer ask for exactly that kind of support, so having it ready shortens the conversation. Our page on proving your mileage lists what may be asked.

When the figure should go up

The notice works in both directions. If a new job, a move or a family change means more driving, the renewal is the right moment to say so. Insurance Code section 661 lists material misrepresentation of annual miles among the grounds for cancelling a policy, and a figure that is too low leaves the policy rated on facts that are not yours.

Once the figure is right, it is worth seeing what it does elsewhere. Compare quotes using the same corrected estimate.