Editorial policy

Who writes the pages

Every article, state page and calculator is researched, written and reviewed by the Valoroath editorial team. Pages carry the team’s name rather than an individual byline. We do not invent writers, reviewers, photos or credentials, and we do not present the site as written by lawyers, adjusters or agents.

What we aim for

Each page should answer a driver’s real question after a crash or during a claim: what to do, what the insurer has to do, what you can ask for, and where to go if you disagree. We write in plain English, use short sentences and give exact numbers where a rule sets them. We describe what the law or the policy says, not what we hope an insurer will do, and we never promise an outcome.

Sources we rely on

We start with primary sources and work outward:

1. State statutes and administrative regulations, read on the legislature’s or the state’s own website, or in an annual code edition when the official site cannot be reached.
2. State insurance departments, motor vehicle agencies and police crash-report guidance.
3. NAIC model laws and regulations, which many states have adopted in some form.
4. Federal agencies such as NHTSA, the FTC and the CFPB.

Commercial or law-firm pages may help us find where a rule lives, but we do not cite them as the source for a legal fact. If we ever use a commercial source for market data, we name it as such in the text. When we cannot confirm a number in an official source, we describe the rule without the number.

How a page is reviewed

Before a page is published, the team checks each figure, deadline and statute number against the source it came from and makes sure the links open the right text. Every article shows the date it was last updated and a sources box listing what we relied on. State pages also show the date their rules were checked. The methodology page explains how the state pages are researched and how each calculator works.

Keeping pages current

Claim rules change when legislatures pass new laws and when insurance departments revise their regulations. We recheck the state pages at least once a year and whenever we learn that a law they describe has changed. When a source an article relies on changes, we update the article. Dated changes to state rules are listed on the updates page, and each page’s updated date moves when its content changes.

Independence

Valoroath is paid when licensed insurance agents and insurers receive coverage review requests (how we make money). Those partners do not write, review or approve our pages, and they cannot buy coverage, a mention or a change to a page. We do not accept payment for articles, links or placement. We do not rate or rank insurers, name any insurance company as good or bad, publish reviews or testimonials, or list insurers’ prices.

Corrections

If you think a page is wrong, outdated or unclear, tell us through the contact page. Please include the page address and, if you can, the statute, regulation or official page that shows the correct rule. We check every report against the source. If we got something wrong, we fix the page and update its date; when the change concerns a state rule, we also note it on the updates page.

We read every message, but we cannot answer questions about your own claim or tell you what to do in your case. For that, contact your insurer, your state insurance department or a licensed professional.