Insurers Overview / Insurers / Applications, Forms & Filings / Policy Approval Bureau / Procedural Information, Policy Approval Bureau

Procedural Information, Policy Approval Bureau

The following information pertains to all filings submitted to the Policy Approval Bureau. "10 CCR" indicates citations to the California Code of Regulations, title 10.

1) Filings (10 CCR Section 2206)

Please see 10 CCR section 2201 through 2218 for regulations governing form filings. Filings may be submitted electronically through the System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing (SERFF) maintained by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Alternatively, filings may be submitted on paper to the addresses below. (Note new address as of 3/2020):

For Policy Approval Bureau form filings (10 CCR section 2202(a)(2), (3), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (11), and (12)):

California Department of Insurance
Policy Approval Bureau
1901 Harrison Street, 6th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612

For Office of Chief Actuary form filings (10 CCR section 2202(a)(12) and (13)):

California Department of Insurance
Office of the Chief Actuary
300 South Spring Street, 14th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90013

2) Information Regarding File Assignment and Review

Filings are ordinarily reviewed in the order submitted. Typically, the primary reviewer will not contact you until your filing has been reviewed. If you have a business reason why your filing requires expedited review, please present that reason with the initial filing to the assigned reviewer for consideration. However, an expedited review will be given only upon the showing of extraordinary circumstances. Please contact the assigned reviewer if you have questions regarding the filing.

Please provide the PAB file number (PF-year-#####) for the filing when contacting the Department. If you are unable to contact the assigned staff reviewer, contact Beverly Brand, Assistant Chief Counsel, Policy Approval Bureau.

3) File Authorization or Disapproval

The status of a filing submitted electronically in SERFF will be shown in the “SERFF Status” field. Authorization or acknowledgment of a specific form is shown in the Form Schedule tab in SERFF.

For filings submitted on paper, you will receive a copy of the Document Submission Form ("DSF") as confirmation of authorization or acknowledgement. Please see 10 CCR section 2217 for an explanation of the codes used on a DSF.

If you receive a communication from the reviewer regarding a deficiency with your submission, your prompt response together with your attention to California requirements will speed up the subsequent review of your resubmission. Every resubmission should contain a redlined version of the resubmitted forms, showing all changes made. Disapproved filings that have not been resubmitted for further processing within six months of disapproval will be closed as withdrawn (10 CCR section 2217(h)). If, after contacting the assigned reviewer, you still have unresolved concerns regarding a disapproved filing, contact Beverly Brand, Assistant Chief Counsel, Policy Approval Bureau.

4) Public Records Access: SERFF Filing Access Website

Most Life and Accident & Health filings along with Property & Casualty filings can now be accessed at no cost through the SERFF Filing Access (“SFA”) Website.

Once the Department has acknowledged or authorized an insurer’s electronically filed forms for use in California, the public can view the approved forms in SERFF through the SFA Website.

To access filings please follow the link for SERFF Filing Access.

After selecting the SERFF Filing Access link above, follow these steps to conduct your search:

Page 1: Select the Begin Search button.
Page 2: Select “Property & Casualty” or “Life/Accident, Annuity, Credit.” You can also search by Type of Insurance, company name, product name, and date range.
Page 3: Select the file you want from the list of filings that appear. You can also print various pages or download them to your own laptop or desktop.

If you have a problem accessing or using SERFF, please contact the SERFF Help Desk at 816-783-8990 Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00 pm CST, or e-mail sfahelp@naic.org.

SERFF 1 pic

SERFF-Search screen example

In addition, the public can view forms that have been acknowledged or authorized for use in California at the Department’s Public Viewing rooms in Los Angeles or Oakland, or online via the Virtual Viewing Room page. Please note that as of 3/2020 the public viewing rooms are temporarily closed, due to safety and security concerns.

For both locations, please call in advance to schedule an appointment.