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.

Link between credit score and premiums- In recent years, insurance companies have found that individuals with problematic scores tend to file more claims. As a result, the majority of insurance companies feel that individuals with an increased tendency to file insurance claims should pay more for insurance coverage, get less coverage, or experience a total coverage denial.

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.

Other important factors- A few other factors can negatively impact your credit score and, consequentially, your entire record. These factors include, but are not limited to, late payments, multiple open lines of credit, or frequent advancing of previous credit limits. It is recommended that you work to pay as much as you possibly can instead of the minimum amount due on specific credit cards, close credit cards that aren’t really needed, and stay absolutely within the limit when using your credit card. All of these things can assist in improving your credit score and the premiums payable for insurance coverage.

Errors on your report- Errors on credit reports should be corrected as soon as possible. It would be best to contact relevant party or parties and investigate the problem. After the resolution of any problems, your insurance company should be notified. Credit records are updated regularly, making it possible for insurance companies to see alterations instantly.

Absolute link- There is absolutely no doubt about the link between a person’s credit records and his or her ability to obtain insurance, and the cost of their premiums. Your current insurance company can also do a credit check before policy renewal, which can result in non-renewal of policies, or substantial rates increases, should there be no credit score improvement.

About the author: Ken Henry has some great suggestions on finding the answers to your insurance questions. Get auto insurance rates from the best companies, plus get an exciting tip sheet on auto and home insurance

Technorati Tags: autoinsurance, budget, credit, credit score, finance, home, home insurance, Insurance