What's a good credit score for car insurance?
Key Things to Know About Auto Insurance Scores
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.
Most insurance companies using credit information will include it as a factor in determining your rate. For example, someone with a relatively high credit score may pay a lower premium than someone with a relatively low credit score.
Yes, Geico does use your credit score as a factor when determining your car insurance rates, as do most major insurers. However, credit checks by auto insurers do not harm your credit score and are only done in states where it is legal for your credit score to affect your rates.
The Zebra's analysis of 61 million car insurance rates shows that drivers with poor credit (those with a credit score lower than 580) pay about $2,729 per year for car insurance. Drivers with exceptional credit (those with a credit score of 800 or higher) pay $1,308 — less than half as much.
How does credit affect car insurance prices? Nationwide uses a credit-based insurance score when determining premiums. Studies show that using this score helps us better predict insurance losses. In fact, 92% of all insurers now consider credit when calculating auto insurance premiums.
Most insurers use credit checks to create a credit-based insurance score to help set your rate. Some insurers provide auto insurance with no credit check, which might seem appealing if you have a poor credit history.
Can I be denied coverage because of my credit? Yes, any insurance company has the right to deny coverage. Likely, poor credit won't be the only reason you're denied auto insurance, but it can be a major contributing factor.
Similar to how creditors can use different types of credit scores, insurance companies can choose from various credit-based insurance scores. For example, FICO, TransUnion and LexisNexis all create credit-based insurance scores, and insurance companies also might develop their own scores.
California
Insurance companies in California don't use credit-based scores or your credit history for underwriting or rating auto policies, or setting rates for homeowners insurance. As a result, your credit won't impact your ability to get or renew a policy, or how much you pay in premiums.
Does auto insurance do a hard credit check?
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 affect your credit score. A hard credit pull generally happens when you apply for credit, such as a mortgage or credit card.
Which insurance companies don't use credit scores? 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 companies frequently deny coverage if the applicant has a recent history of accidents, a series of minor traffic tickets or a serious infraction such as a DUI. These are strong indicators of a risky driver who may cause a car accident and submit a claim.
An insurance score is a score calculated from information on your credit report. Credit information is very predictive of future accidents or insurance claims, which is why Progressive, and most insurers, uses this information to help develop more accurate rates.
- Paying your loans on time.
- Not getting too close to your credit limit.
- Having a long credit history.
- Making sure your credit report doesn't have errors.
For example, USAA may pull your credit report it if you're applying for a large amount of coverage or if you have a history of bankruptcy. However, insurance companies have started checking credit more frequently for no medical exam life insurance policies, or for policies that advertise expedited underwriting.
The short answer is no. There is no direct affect between car insurance and your credit, paying your insurance bill late or not at all could lead to debt collection reports. Debt collection reports do appear on your credit report (often for 7-10 years) and can be read by future lenders.
Some factors that may affect your auto insurance premiums are your car, your driving habits, demographic factors and the coverages, limits and deductibles you choose. These factors may include things such as your age, anti-theft features in your car and your driving record.
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.
However, no correlation seems to exist between one's credit score and one's likelihood of filing medical claims with a health insurance provider, as insurance companies do not routinely use credit scores in making decisions regarding the issuance of health insurance policies.
Do you want a higher or lower insurance score?
What's a good insurance score? Using the LexisNexis Risk Classifier, an insurance score of 770 or higher out of 997 is considered good and will get you a favorable premium. A score of 500 or below is considered poor and could result in higher premiums or being turned down for coverage.
Higher scores may mean you're less likely to file a claim, and thus pose a lower risk to an insurance company — all of which can add up to lower costs on your insurance policy. Lower scores could mean you're more likely to file a claim, and pose a higher risk.
Car insurance companies almost always check your credit when you buy a new policy. Every major insurance company uses your credit history in some way, according to a report from the Federal Trade Commission. Insurance companies check your credit because they believe drivers with poor credit tend to file more claims.
Credit Use in Vehicle Insurance
Here's an overview of how and why The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies — and most other insurers — uses credit when determining rates. While specific state laws govern our use of credit, this is a general overview of our practices.
In general, your auto insurance score is based on your accident history, your claims history and information pulled from your credit report. Some of the information from your credit report that can impact your insurance score includes your: Length of credit history. Payment history.
