In a CDI rate hearing convened under Ins. Code § 1861.05, who bears the burden of proving that a filed rate is neither excessive, inadequate, nor unfairly discriminatory?

Why this is the answer

Ins. Code § 1861.05(b) makes the insurer the burden-bearing party — it must affirmatively prove that the rate it proposes is not excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory. Rate hearings are conducted under the California Administrative Procedure Act, with the modifications in Ins. Code § 1861.08 (administrative law judges, notice, discovery), and the burden stays with the insurer. The CDI's Rate Specialist Bureau and any intervenor may challenge the insurer's actuarial assumptions, but the legal burden of persuasion never shifts. This contrasts with most state regulatory regimes that presume filed rates valid. See Ins. Code §§ 1861.05, 1861.08.