Annual mileage estimator

In Southern California the commute is the insurance question hiding in plain sight. Miles driven is the second of the three factors California requires insurers to weigh most, and it is the number people guess at. Build it from your actual week instead.

How California uses your mileage

Proposition 103 made annual miles the second required rating factor, behind only your driving record (Insurance Code 1861.02(a)). The regulation spells out how it works (10 CCR 2632.5(c)(2)):

• It is your estimate of the miles you will drive in the 12 months after the policy starts.
• The insurer may require information to support it — including the current odometer reading and the reason for any difference from last year — and may request, but not require, service records or a mileage-tracking device. It may also use smog-check odometer readings.
• It may not adjust your premium afterward on actual miles unless it told you so before the policy took effect.

The Southern California version of the question

A long commute adds up quickly: a 36-mile round trip, five days a week for 48 weeks, is about 8,600 miles before a single errand or weekend drive. That is why the estimate is worth building from your real week — and updating when the week changes.

Sources (official)

• California Insurance Code section 1861.02 (miles driven is the second required factor)
• California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2632.5(c)(2) (how the mileage estimate works)

This is an estimate from what you enter. How a company sorts miles into its rating bands, and what it asks for to support your estimate, varies by company.