Editorial policy

1. What we publish

RateOrchard publishes two kinds of pages: data pages (one per state, product, or profile) and editorial pages (longer-form articles in the blog). Data pages combine structured information pulled from public sources with a short editorial section that explains the context. Editorial pages are reported and written by a named human author.

2. Sources

Every numerical claim on the site is traceable to one of the following:

• National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) consumer data
• Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
• US Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimates
• FEMA OpenFEMA disaster declarations
• CMS Open Data (health plans)
• State Departments of Insurance (minimum coverage, filed rates)
• Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS)

Each page renders a Data sources box with the exact report and the observation date. If we cannot locate an authoritative source for a claim, we do not publish the claim.

3. AI assistance and human review

The editorial commentary on each data page is drafted with the help of a large language model, given the page's fact JSON as input and constrained by a published voice and style guide. No number in the drafted prose can exist outside that fact JSON. Drafts are reviewed by a human editor before the page is marked approved and indexed. Drafts that have not been approved are not shown to readers. Blog articles and product explainers are written by named humans first, optionally polished with language tooling, and always bylined.

4. Review cadence

Each data page shows a Last updated timestamp. That timestamp changes when one of two things happens: a data refresh replaces at least one underlying number, or an editor reviews and signs off on the page. At minimum, every YMYL (finance, insurance) page is reviewed by a named editor once per quarter.

5. Corrections

If we publish an error, we fix it as soon as we can verify the correct value, we annotate the page with the date of the correction and the reason, and we keep a log at /corrections (link active once the first correction is logged). To report a possible error, email [email protected].

6. Independence and conflicts of interest

RateOrchard earns revenue from display advertising (AdSense, programmatic ad networks) and affiliate partnerships with insurance and lending aggregators. Our rankings and editorial commentary are never influenced by those relationships. When a link on the site leads to an affiliate partner, the surrounding paragraph states so in plain English. No editor has personal equity in a rated carrier or broker. When that changes, we disclose it on this page first.

7. Not financial advice

RateOrchard publishes reference material, not personal financial advice. Rates, laws, and coverage requirements differ by state, situation, and carrier underwriting. Before acting on anything you read here, confirm with a licensed professional.