|
Know The Score
What is an insurance score anyway?
It’s a number auto insurance carriers and companies use to determine your premium rate, and it’s generally based on your driving record combined with information found in your credit report.
Why use my credit report?
Credit information is very predictive of future behaviors, including accidents and claims that you may possibly file. Most auto insurance providers now use this information to develop more accurate premium rates. The lower your insurance score, the lower your premium rate is likely to be.
Does that mean my insurance score is the same as my credit score?
No. A credit score indicates your ability to repay debts, as well as, your payment history on such debts or bills. An insurance score predicts the likelihood of your becoming involved in a car accident or filing a claim against your policy. Basing the rates of all drivers more accurately, thanks in part to the use of credit scores, auto insurance providers are able to more accurately anticipate their costs. This helps keep rates lower for everyone.
What factors can affect an insurance score?
Auto insurance carriers aren’t giving you a bank loan, so they don’t care how much money you earn or how much you owe. They’re looking more for patterns of responsibility. Because both above-average and below-average factors in your current credit history are evaluated, drivers still have the opportunity to get a lower auto insurance premium even if their payment histories are perfect or contain some below-average data.
While insurance rates are calculated based on laws that vary state by state, as a general rule favorable factors include the following:
- Long-established credit history
- Numerous open accounts in good standing
- No late payments or past due accounts
- Low use of available credit
Unfavorable factors might include:
- Collection accounts
- Numerous past-due payments
- High use of available credit
- Numerous recent applications for credit
How can I improve an unfavorable insurance score?
Some factors are simply out of your control — having a short credit history, for instance, but this will improve with time as long as you repay your debts on time. Many drivers are able to improve their insurance score in a short period of time by making loan and mortgage payments on time, keeping accounts in good standing, and avoiding making multiple credit card applications over the space of a few months. Also, if you are living near the limits of your credit card this might have an unfavorable impact on your overall insurance score.
Auto insurance comparison is the only way to get the cheapest online auto insurance. By filling out the simple form on InsureMeOnline.com, you will instantly receive multiple auto quotes from the nations top carriers.
|