Impact of your score- Believe it or not, but your credit score can have a substantial impact on your ability to obtain insurance as well as the actual cost of the coverage! Insurance companies use these scores to help determine policy eligibility, coverage types available and insurance premium payment options. Credit score and insurance are thus directly linked.
Credit score defined- Now you may ask yourself, what is a credit score exactly? A credit score is your credit history measurement in a numeric format. It's important to keep in mind that insurance companies will not need your permission to run a credit score check.
Exact impact of credit score on your premiums- Insurance companies have conducted studies which have found that people with problematic credit are more likely to lodge insurance claims. The logic employed by most insurance companies is that people who tend to lodge claims should pay more for coverage, obtain less coverage or be denied coverage entirely.
Credit score improvement- Some good news is that you can do a few things to improve your credit score. It's recommended that you get these problematic items cleaned up and preferably removed from your credit history to greatly increase your likelihood of getting insurance coverage or paying substantially lower insurance premiums.
Impact of collection agencies- When last did you check for collections agency reports on your credit report? If it's been a while, it would be best to do a check now and in case of a report ask them for low instalments to settle the debt in question. It's essential to have the agency state in writing that all negative items will be eliminated from your record upon full settlement of debt.
A couple of other factors- A few other factors have the potential to impact you credit record negatively. Examples of these factors are late payments, excessive open credit lines, and credit limit advancing on a regular basis. It is highly recommended that more than the minimum amount due be paid on credit cards, unnecessary credit cards be cancelled, and that individuals remain within the limit when using credit cards. All of these factors have the potential to better your credit rating as well as decrease insurance premiums.
Mistaken score- Should there be any mistake or inaccuracy on your credit report, contact the parties in question immediately to dispute the issue. Once the disputed items have been removed from your report, the insurance company can be informed. Credit reports and scores are regularly updated, which will make it easy for insurance companies to see any changes immediately.
Definite link- With all said and done, there is no shadow of a doubt that a credit report can impact one's ability to get insurance, and also cost of their premiums. If your current insurance company decides to conduct a credit check upon renewal of your policy, they can potentially opt for policy non-renewal or substantial rate raise should there be little to no credit score improvement.
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Author: Ken Henry can help you find the solutions to your insurance questions. Get auto insurance rates from the best companies, plus save big money on auto and home insurance