Under a recent California law, insurance carriers are now required to validate the estimated annual miles driven per vehicle on all insurance policies. Most insurance companies have started the process of requesting of insureds and agents verification of odometer readings, typically at renewals. These verifications may include reconfirming how vehicles are used – pleasure only or for business use or simply commuting to and from work. Some insurance carriers are sending out notices to their customers requesting these updates and some companies are automatically increasing the annual estimated miles on vehicles, especially if they haven’t received any ODM updates. If a carrier does this they anticipate the insured will contact their agent with updates. At RJINS we are pro-active. As the renewals are coming in, we are doing our best to conduct policy reviews and then contacting our customers right away.
We want you to know that this, unfortunately, is an industry-wide compliance issue to satisfy state regulators. The State of California Dept. of Insurance has indicated that their studies show the average California driver drives 13,000 miles annually. We know this is not the case depending on the individual’s or family’s situation.
Please know that as frustrating as this additional regulatory requirement is for you, it is frustrating for us as agents and insurance companies as we are trying to keep rates reasonably low for you, our insureds. Remember to call RJINS if you see discrepancies in your auto insurance renewals, if we haven’t gotten to you by the time you get your policy renewal in the mail.