Date:         Sat, 8 Feb 2003 08:21:24 -0800
Reply-To:     Mike Miller <mwmiller@CWNET.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Miller <mwmiller@CWNET.COM>
Subject:      Re: Insurance - credit check
Comments: To: Bill N <freeholder@starband.net>
In-Reply-To:  <00bc01c2cf40$28e7c650$319c4094@BILLPC>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Good to know.

Thanks.

On 2/7/03 11:03 PM, "Bill N" <freeholder@STARBAND.NET> wrote:

> Insurance companies do check your credit report, because people with poor
> credit file more
> claims.  Who knows why.  Now, as to affecting your credit report, well, that
> gets a bit more
> complicated.  Most lenders today use the FICO score.  Multiple inquiries of
> some kinds will, in
> fact, lower your FICO.  However, the system is set up to ignore certain
> things, such as
> insurance company inquiries.  Most of you probably know that when you go to a
> car dealership
> and test drive a car, they need to make a copy of your driver's license "for
> their records."
>
> You may not know that they run a credit report while you are out on the test
> drive.  The credit
> bureaus know this, and ignore multiple inquiries from car dealers, assuming
> that you are car
> shopping.  Since many companies, such as department stores and credit card
> companies, routinely
> check your credit every few months to watch for problems, the credit bureaus
> ignore these,
> also.  They will lower your score for multiple attempts to obtain new credit.
>
> Another big factor for your FICO score is how close your accounts are to the
> limits.  Oddly
> enough, if you have a couple of maxed credit cards, getting another one and
> leaving the balance
> zero can actually raise your score, since your total credit card debt is now a
> lower percentage
> of your total limit.
>
> Bill
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Brush" <jbrush@AROS.NET>
>>
>> Not sure if it matters, but it really bugs me. Here in Utah, if you ask
>> for an insurance quote, the law says that you have given permission to the
>> insurance company to do a credit check on you.
>>
>> I am told that every time someone checks your credit, your rating drops.
>> Kind of prevents me from shopping around very much for an insurance quote.
>