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Credit Scores Can Impact Insurance Quotes

Insurance companies check your credit score, too. When shopping for car insurance, expect insurance companies to also check your credit.

By: Tom Lustina
Category: Insurance:Auto
: Finance:Credit
Posted: Apr 20, 2009
Updated: Apr 20, 2009
Views: 167


When shopping for car insurance, you can expect insurance companies to check your credit. It is a common factor in determining your monthly premium; your credit score gives insurance companies the chance to see how trustworthy you are in paying bills and making full payments on time. And most importantly, the amount of credit you have can mean a huge difference between a low premium and a high premium.

However, insurers view credit differently than creditors. Thus, insurance companies use an insurance score to view your credit.

What Is An Insurance Score?

The insurance score, according to the Insurance Information Institute, is a type of numerical ranking that determines your overall credit history. The higher your ranking, the more likely you are to receive affordable insurance quotes. In contrast, the lower your ranking, the more likely you are to get higher quotes.

Each insurance company has a specific formula to calculate how an individual used past credit. Because insurance companies use a formula, one factor can’t stop you from receiving a low premium, but it does mean that insurance companies vary in rates; another reason why you should shop around for car insurance quotes and other types online.

What Makes Up An Insurance Score?

There are several factors that produce your insurance score, and each factor is weighed differently from insurance company to insurance company:

• Your payment history
• The duration of your credit history
• The owed amount on your revolved accounts
• Any collection fees on your credit report
• Any delinquent items on your credit report
• The time that passed since you paid your last delinquency or late payment
• Your total outstanding debt amount

Not included in the insurance score are the following:

• Your employment history
• Your job title
• Your race, ethnicity, gender, age, marital status, area of residence, or religious beliefs
• Your salary
• Any rental commitments
• The country you were born in
• Credit counseling participation
• Child support arrangements.

How Can I Raise My Insurance Score?

If you would like more information about the insurance score, you should speak with an experienced insurance agent and allow them to further explain your insurance score. If you think that you may have a bad insurance score, there are several ways for you to clear it up, though it will take some time for you to get your insurance score up to part again:

• Obtain a free credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus and check for possible errors. Any type of claimed delinquency or inactive accounts would hinder your insurance score.
• Be sure to pay all of your bills in full and on time.
• Pay off huge credit balances. Late payments would only negate your insurance score. If you feel that you are in too much debt, consult with a debt management service or credit counseling agency to help you budget your money and pay outstanding bills off.

staff contribution: Brandon Clayton. For more information, visit InsuranceAgents.com.

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