Rate set inheritance

In Factor, rate sets can be linked together through inheritance. This means a rate set can include rates not only from its own rate codes, but also from any other rate sets it inherits.

When a rating is performed, Factor works through the entire inheritance chain. It gathers the relevant rate codes from the selected rate set, then looks at any inherited rate sets, and continues following those links until all applicable rates have been considered. This ensures that ratings reflect the complete structure you’ve defined, even across multiple layers of inheritance.

Factor also includes safeguards against circular dependencies (where rate sets would otherwise loop back on themselves). These checks are performed at rating time to make sure inheritance is valid and that ratings can be calculated without error.

Inheritance gives you flexibility: you can set up shared or base rate sets once, and then build on them in other rate sets without duplicating data. This helps keep your rate structures consistent, easier to maintain, and less prone to errors over time.

Inherited Rate Conflicts

When using rate set inheritance, be aware that if both a parent rate set and child rate set contain the same rate code, the rating process will error and fail to complete. Before implementing network price changes:

• Review all inherited rate sets to identify any duplicate rate codes

• Either remove the rate code from the child rate set (to use the inherited version) or remove it from the parent rate set (to use the child-specific version)

• Consider restructuring your rate set hierarchy if conflicts are frequent