Tag Archives: Insurance Credit Score

One States Effort to Control Insurance Credit Scoring

Insurance companies have been using Insurance Credit Scores for several years now. This information has been used in a variety of ways to underwrite and rate insurance products offered to the public. As a result consumer groups and states have expressed concern as to how Insurance Credit Scores are being used and what protections consumers should expect. A number of states have passed a variety of laws and restrictions on Insurance companies and how they use the Insurance Credit Score information. It would be impossible for me to keep track of the changes in every state but, this is some … Continue reading →

How To Review Your Insurance Credit Score & Other Public Records

ChoicePoint is one of the primary sources insurance companies and agents use to determine an applicant or insured’s insurance credit score. This company provides easy internet access to their services designed to provide information about the people and businesses to both professionals and consumers, to help everyone make smarter choices. ChoicePoint data is also available to individual consumers who want to look at their own personal information to check for accuracy. Every local, state, and federal government agency compiles records which can be found under several open record laws. With few exceptions for protected personal privacy, any citizen can access … Continue reading →

Your Credit Score and How It Relates to Insurance (Part 6)

Since insurance companies started using credit scores as part of the underwriting and rating for auto and homeowner insurance many consumer groups have said they believe use of credit history may have a greater impact on minorities and low income people. These consumer groups point out several studies of lending practices which indicate minorities and low income people are often targeted by sub-prime lenders, which usually leads to a negative impact on their credit history. Consumer groups are concerned insurance credit scores will be lower for low income and minority groups, regardless of the fact insurance companies user the credit … Continue reading →

Your Credit Score and How It Relates to Insurance (Part 5)

There is nothing in this world that is perfect and mistakes happen all the time. And, in the area of consumer credit reporting mistakes and errors are a common problem. Most people have heard it more then once, check your credit report and correct any errors. It is best to check at least once a year and considering that Insurance companies are permitted to look at consumer credit without your permission checking often is an even more important thing to do. You may be paying more on your auto or homeowner insurance because of an error on your credit report … Continue reading →

Your Credit Score and How It Relates To Insurance (4)

When shopping for Auto or Home Insurance you will want to know if an Insurance company will be using a credit score to determine if they will offer you insurance or offer you insurance at a higher premium based on your credit score. When getting insurance quotes it is very important to have all the vital information to provide the agent or company in order to receive an accurate quote. Insurance customers should always feel free to ask questions about the companies an agent represents. In the area of insurance credit scoring these are some of the questions I ask: … Continue reading →

Your Credit Score and How It Relates To Insurance (3)

When insurance companies use credit information to determine a customers “insurance credit score,” the score is calculated using information about a persons credit history. Many insurance companies will penalize recent history more than old credit history. The factors used for many insurance company scoring models include: Public records: Such as bankruptcy, collections, foreclosures, liens, and charge-offs. Public records generally lower your insurance credit score. Past payment history: The number and frequency of late payments and the days between due date and late payment date. If bills are not paid on time, the insurance score will be lower. Length of credit … Continue reading →

Your Credit Score and How It Relates To Insurance (2)

Insurance companies may look at credit history and other public information without the permission of an applicant or insured. Most insurance agents don’t even know what a clients credit score is. Instead, an agent will only know an insurance score qualifies someone for a certain rate level or policy packages within a specific insurance company. Even if someone were to know their insurance credit score, it wouldn’t mean anything to anyone outside of the insurance company and their agents. Insurance companies use consumer credit information differently than financing or lending businesses do. Most consumers are aware of consumer credit scores … Continue reading →

Your Credit Score and How It Relates To Insurance (1)

It’s a relatively new thing for insurance companies to look at consumer credit information. In California some insurance companies started using credit reports during the 1980’s for renter’s insurance policies and in the late 1990’s the industry as a whole started to use insurance credit scores to decide: Whether to issue or renew an insurance policy. How much to charge for the insurance premiums. Credit scoring has been met with great controversy both within the insurance industry and with the public. In later Blog entries, I will outline several State and National issues that are currently underway to help resolve … Continue reading →