A higher credit score decreases your car insurance rate, often significantly, with almost every company and in most states. Getting a quote, however, does not affect your credit. Your credit score is a key part of determining the rate you pay for car insurance.
Insurance companies check your credit score in order to gauge the risk they'll take to insure you. Studies have indicated that those with lower credit scores are likely to file more claims or have more expensive insurance claims, while those with higher credit scores are less likely to do so.
All major car insurance companies — including GEICO, Progressive and State Farm — do a credit check during the quoting process. In fact, credit is one of the major rating factors used by underwriters when determining car insurance rates.
Insurance scores range between a low of 200 and a high of 997. Insurance scores of 770 or higher are favorable, and scores of 500 or below are poor. Although rare, there are a few people who have perfect insurance scores. Scores are not permanent and can be affected by different factors.
Car insurance providers will look at your credit score when you compare quotes to check your details. They will also do a credit check before you actually buy your policy, if you want to pay monthly rather than annually.
Common causes of overly expensive insurance rates include your age, driving record, credit history, coverage options, what car you drive and where you live. Anything that insurers can link to an increased likelihood that you will be in an accident and file a claim will result in higher car insurance premiums.
This is why insurance companies check credit – it's helpful to determine your risk level and thus your insurance rates as well. Depending on your province of residence, your credit score can affect your home insurance and car insurance premium. Consenting to a credit check could save you money on your insurance.
Why do insurance companies use credit information? Some insurance companies have shown that information in a credit report can predict which consumers are likely to file insurance claims. They believe that consumers who are more likely to file claims should pay more for their insurance.
Credit-based insurance scores were introduced by the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) in the early 1990s. FICO estimates approximately 95% of auto insurers and 85% of homeowners' insurers use credit-based insurance scores in states where it is a legally allowed underwriting or risk classification factor.
According to Progressive, insurance scores range from 200 to 997, with everything below 500 considered a poor score, and everything from 776 to 997 considered a good score. So, what is a good insurance score? Anything over 775.
Insurance credit scoring is unfair because it penalizes consumers for rational behavior. For example, if you shop around for insurance, each insurance company will check your credit and increase the number of inquiries on your credit report which hurts your score.
Claims in your area
If your city has a high rate of theft, accident, and weather-related claims, it becomes riskier for an insurance company to cover drivers in your area. That risk can lead to an auto insurance price increase, even if you have a perfect driving record.
Due to their value, cost to repair, risk of theft and other factors, it may cost more to insure a new car versus an older one. If your new vehicle is financed, your lender will likely require you to carry more insurance than the legal minimum, which typically results in higher premiums.
Progressive pricing. Both Geico and Progressive offer cheap car insurance to drivers across the country. Geico's rates are typically lower overall, but Progressive tends to offer better prices to those with a recent DUI, at-fault accident or speeding ticket on their driving record.
When do car insurance premiums go down? From ages 16 to 25, your car insurance rates will steadily go down for every year that you keep your driving record clean. Car insurance rates go down at age 25 by a large margin. Rates then decrease slowly but surely until age 65, before increase again.
There are many factors that impact insurance rates. Downgrades to your credit rating, points against your driving record, or change of locations can cause your rates to increase. So, it's normal for auto insurance to go up every year.
However, bearing all that in mind, research suggests three points could raise a driver's car insurance premium by an average of 5%, while six penalty points could push the cost of insurance up by an average of 25%.
1. Car Payments. Making payments on your car is the biggest, most obvious expense of your vehicle. In 2020, the average monthly car payment on a new vehicle has risen to $550, according to loan statistics from LendingTree.
Avoid buying insurance that you don't need. Chances are you need life, health, auto, disability, and, perhaps, long-term care insurance. But don't buy into sales arguments that you need other more costly insurance that provides you with coverage only for a limited range of events.
Numerous studies have found racial disparities in credit scoring: 1996 study found African-Americans were three times as likely to have FICO scores below 620 as whites and that Hispanics were twice as likely.
Crucial FICO scores in need of updates
In order to help consumes protect their credit during the pandemic, the bureaus have extended the availability of free credit reports until 2022. However, these reports usually do not include your FICO scores.
Most negative credit information remains on your credit file for seven years, while positive accounts are reported for 10 years. But if you haven't had any active credit accounts for that period of time, you may find your credit history has all but disappeared.
Does getting insurance quotes affect your credit score? No, there is no “hard credit pull” when you get a car insurance quote, so shopping around won't impact your credit score. A hard credit pull generally happens when you apply for credit, such as a mortgage or credit card.
Generally, five different factors are used to determine your credit-based insurance score: payment history, outstanding debt, credit history length, pursuit of new credit and credit mix.