Why do insurance companies care about your credit score?

Question

Is it to asses my reliability for paying the premium? Or to get some vague notion if I'm a reliable person?
I have perfect yet short credit history (6 months) = "insufficient for insurance underwriting purposes", and I'm afraid it's going to send my premium out of whack.

Answer 1

In my state, there is a law that the company can't penalize you for having no credit history. You will pay the "Base" rate, not the discounted rate for a good credit history and not the higher premium for a bad credit history. There are more factors than just credit history that go to an "insurance" score. I know of people with wonderful credit scores, get a lower insurance score due to many factors (I don't know many offhand). One of the "models" companies use say that someone with a gas station credit card will get a slightly better insurance score than someone without one. One says if you take loans on things like stereo systems or furniture, you are more of an insurance risk (you are better off using a credit card!). Anyway, there has been many years of research into this & there is a direct correllation between low insurance score and claims. Someone mentioned bad maintenance on a home, which is true, this can cause claims to be worse - I know someone who had a roof collapse due to weight of ice & snow which was a covered loss - their roof was very old & should have been replaced several years before & if they did, it may not have happened because the roofer would have inspected the rafters, sheething etc & fixed any problems. But, if you can't afford to fix your brakes before they are almost failing or can't afford to get new tires until they are bald (or can't afford to get snow tires in the winter), you can see that not doing these things can cause accidents.

Answer 2

Due to statistics, there appears to be a direct correlation between credit and one's likelihood to file a claim. Personally, I can't say that I completely agree with this as far as auto insurance goes with what I see at work, but with homeowner's insurance I can definitely see a correlation. People who can't afford to maintain their homes often end up with major losses and file claims on things that could have been prevented and often, are not covered.

Different insurance companies factor in your credit rating differently, so it would benefit you to shop around.

Answer 3

Based on stats and numbers, those with a good credit history are in less accidents.

Answer 4

It will make your payment a bit higher, but they do it, because statistics have shown that an irresponsible bill payer, will likely be a more reckless/irresponsible driver. Since you only have six months of credit, they are correct in their decision.