How do you feel about insurance companies pulling your credit report?

I live in Michigan a state where it is law to have insurance. I have also been denied insurance by a certain large insurance company based on my credit score. I just don't think they should be able to pull your credit report if your required by state law to carry it. Hey if i don't pay it cancel me.

How do you feel about insurance companies pulling your credit report?
I don't like the idea of them looking at my credit. I know that a lot of insurance companies look at it and will use your score as one factor in determining your rates. But I think it's a bad practice. What if you're shopping around for the best rate? Everytime a company looks at your credit score it puts a "hit" on your report. This actually hurts your credit.





Anyway, I think that your driving record should be more than enough for them. You could have perfect credit but be a terrible driver, or have bad credit and drive without ever having an accident.
Reply:How do you feel about insurance companies pulling your credit report?


I live in Michigan a state where it is law to have insurance. I have also been denied insurance by a certain large insurance company based on my credit score. I just don't think they should be able to pull your credit report if your required by state law to carry it. Hey if i don't pay it cancel me.
Reply:Good credit usually means being an equally responsible driver. I find this to be discriminatory as sometimes we can have our credit ruined due to hospital bills and other things that we cannot help.
Reply:Be glad that they do it. It protects you, good drivers have insurance, its one of the reasons that they are called good drivers. People with bad credit have a tendency to "skip" that insurance bill and few companies will accept customers with a history of not paying bills. Your idea of "just cancel me", if you don't pay, will only hurt you %26amp; your credit.
Reply:Yes they do it because they know that people who have good credit are much less likely to get into an accident than people who have bad credit. It is legal.
Reply:I agree with you. i don't believe it has anything to do with how well a driver a person is based on the credit score. To the person who actually believes that insurance companies do this because people with good credit are less likely to get into accidents is an IDIOT! So many celebrities get into so many accidents and I'm pretty sure they have good credit. How some people can be so ignorant and think that good credit score means better driver. Good credit score just simply means that the person is responsible enough to pay his/her bills on time or does not go over 50% of their credit limit. a person with no credit at all can have a high FICO score.





Anyways... bottom line, I agree with you. It really has nothing to do with it and you're right, if you don't pay then they can just cancel your coverage. Insurance should be based on your driving record not you financial status nor your credit.
Reply:There are statistics that show that those who have poor credit - are more likely to have a loss. Money troubles/debt are major reasons to be involved in insurance fraud. Insurance companies are financial businesses - not charities.





Some one who is in debt - can't sell the car b/c they owe too much - are more likely to burn the car up. Need extra money - fake a theft loss.





Your insurance rates are based on risk. The greater the likely hood of you incurring a loss - the greater the risk for the insurance company that insures you.





The major factor that is considered by credit reporting agencies is your ability to pay your bills. If you just make the minimum payment on time every month - is the easiest way to pull up a bad score. If you do not pay your bills or pay late, this will pull your credit report down.





Moral of the story: people who are responsible with their money- get better rates on insurance, loans and credit cards. People who are not responsible, are bigger risks and pay more for insurance, loans and credit cards.





Grow up - quit griping and start paying your bills on time and your credit score will go up.
Reply:I agree.
Reply:Same way I feel about them pulling my driving record.





They're both private information, and they're both proven to be an accurate indicator of future loss potential.





You're NOT required by law to have insurance, only people who want to drive on public roadways are required to have insurance. There are ways around having auto insurance - like, don't own a car, and don't drive.





Sure, it's CONVENIENT. But YOU are complaining because you were denied based on low credit score - the NEXT guy is complaining because he was denied based on his driving record.





It's not ABOUT paying the bill - it's about predicting future losses. And people with credit scores under 550 are about 7X as likely to file a claim as people with scores over 700. Just like that guy with 2 dui's, he's about 10X as likely to have an at fault accident.





Insurance companies in most states have the right to pick and choose customers less likely to file claims.
Reply:There are a number of factors that can be indicators of a person being a good risk or bad risk for insurance. When the statistics show that over 50% of all claims (75% of auto theft claims) are exaggerated or bogus, you can better understand why your credit rating can play a role in determining if you will be a good insurance risk or not. People in financial trouble can be motivated to create a "loss" that will make them money. You'd be amazed at how many cars are dumped in bodies of water, given up for drugs, burned or otherwise intentionally disposed of in order to file a fraudulent car theft claim. I have seen people claim injuries they didn't have, claim auto theft that never happened, set fire to their own cars to cover up costly mechanical problems and lie and cheat beyond your imagination in order to solve their financial problems. YES, insurance companies need to know your financial background before they agree to insure you. When insurance companies cover cheats and liars, our premiums all go up to cover those fraudulent claims. I'm sure you don't want to pay a higher premium for that.
Reply:Most likely, you will be able to find insurance through a state sponsored program.





The reason insurance companies pull your credit report is due to the fact that some companies believe that if you are in credit trouble, you may be more likely to do something nasty, like burn down your house to get out of the mortgage, crash your car to get out of payments (w/ gap insurance), etc, etc.
Reply:It's the height of unfairness.





Those particular scummy insurance companies should be avoided.
Reply:I personally feel that it is wrong... What does your credit have to do with how you drive! NOT ONE THING trust me I worked for GEICO! It's just another way to make you pay more if you have bad credit!