GAEL Rate

General, Auto, and Employment Liability (GAEL) Rate

The GAEL rate is an assessment on payroll to pay for various types of insurance that covers liability for UC ANR employees, volunteers, vehicles, and property. The rate is based on an assessment that UC ANR receives from UC Office of the President (UCOP) to pay insurance premiums. The ANR GAEL rate for the past year, along with the rate for this coming fiscal year, are shown below.

Background and Detail

UCOP assesses each campus, and ANR, to fund the University’s self-insurance program for general liability (GL), Auto Liability (AL), Auto Physical Damage (APD), and Employment Practices Liability (EPL). Together, this assessment is referred to as “GAEL.”  This assessment is calculated based on actuarial analysis of claims history, both on a systemwide and individual campus level. Thus, the GAEL rate can increase year to year due to frequent or substantial claims from the campuses, as well as outside influences in the cost of managing risk claims. Similarly, an individual campus’ assessment may go up or down depending on that campus’ claims history and expected liabilities. ANR Risk Services reviews these annual actuarial reports and works with the actuary and UCOP Risk Services to ensure that the allocation of insurance program costs are fair and accurate.

The ANR GAEL Rate is calculated as an assessment per $100 of payroll and every ANR unit is assessed this ANR GAEL Rate.

ANR's allocated share of the UC insurance program premium increased by 28% this year, compared to an overall UC systemwide increase of approximately 30%. However, ANR’s GAEL rate that is assessed to payroll in all departments increased by only 4% for fiscal year 2023-23. The GAEL rate has historically been partially subsidized by ANR central funds to maintain a more stable rate. This year, the ANR central fund subsidy was increased substantially to lessen the impact of the increased insurance premium allocated to UC ANR and keep the rate as low as possible.

The insurance premium increases this year are due to several factors: 1) the premiums for UC’s systemwide self-insurance program have increased due to significant continued pressure on the global insurance market, 2) increases in the frequency and severity of some claims; and 3) settlement of a liability case at one of the UC campuses resulted in a large payout which will be financed by the insurance program over the next ten years.

If you have any questions about the GAEL Rate, you may contact Brian Oatman, Director of Risk & Safety Services (baoatman@ucanr.edu) or Connie Tadesse, Director of Financial Services (connie.tadesse@ucop.edu).