Did you know that your credit score could have an effect on how much you pay for car insurance? Well, they can, and more and more car insurance companies are using this new way to figure out how much to charge. Many companies use this new system, but not all of them do. If your company does, you should know a few things about it.
This system is based on a set of ideas. There is one, even if some consumers don't agree with it. After collecting data, researching, and studying for years, some car insurance companies have come to the conclusion that people with low credit scores are also the ones who file the most claims. This claim raises some interesting questions, the most important of which is: Do people with lower credit scores drive worse than people with higher credit scores?
It's hard to say what the answer is. It's possible that people with low credit scores make more claims on their car insurance for reasons that have nothing to do with accidents. It's possible that these same people live in neighbourhoods where car theft and vandalism are more common than in other neighbourhoods. Fraudulent claims are also a point of contention, since they would increase the total number of claims made by people with lower credit scores.
There is, of course, another side to this. What about people with bad credit who have never been in an accident or made a claim? Should car insurance companies be able to raise their rates? This is the main point of the debate: whether or not it is fair to punish a whole group of people for the actions of a few.
In the past, this big-picture method was often used by car insurance companies to set rates. For example, we all know that insurance premiums are usually higher for younger drivers, even if they have never been in an accident. It seems like all younger drivers pay more, and there is evidence that younger drivers do get into more accidents than older drivers.
There are, however, a couple of things you can do if your credit score is used to figure out how much car insurance you may have to pay. First, you should make sure that your credit reports and scores are correct. You might be surprised by how often these reports have mistakes or things left out. You could also check with your car insurance company to see if they use this system. You might save money if you switch to a different company that doesn't use credit scores to set premiums. Lastly, if you find out that your company uses this model, you may want to talk to your car insurance agent and ask for a waiver. This will only work if your driving record is clean. If they don't want to lose you as a customer, they may be willing to give you a better rate.
