PhilB51's Blog

Thats such a crock! I hate insurance companies!

Phil, I never heard good things from Progessive anyways. I would shop other agencies. Some offer pretty good incentives for switching over.

funny you would post this....I talked with my auto insurance JUST YESTERDAY and she said this was a new rule!!! Now, I have good credit, but Lord knows now days not too many people do, and in a blink of an eye, good credit could turn upside down over night now days!!! So lets say, youre a med student with a BLEEP load on your credit, paid current, but maxed out, that lowers your score right there! It doesnt mean your bad at paying your bills, just means youre over extended!! What the hell does having good credit have to do with the way you drive???

Drug test people before you give them insurance....thats sounds like a better start to me!

I'm sure we can blame the staged accidents for some of this.

Progressive is the worst!They had class action suit just for that reason,when I was with them apparently they were overcharging dah I didn't know it find some one else,Allied(I think they are affiliated with Nationwide) anyways their rates were good for us,70 a month now I could afford it & that was full coverage.
I know insurance sucks but if you don't have it it's worse on you!

Auto insurance (as well as other insurance)also takes smoking into consideration. I think it is fair to take your credit score to determine your rates. I don't know what my credit score is, but I have never been late on any payment. And I always get good rates on auto or house loans. I know my credit is perfect. And it's not hard to do at all. Only buy what you can afford and only use credit cards for emergencies.
My rates went up a while back because of an error on my driving record. You can get a free copy of your driving record by going to:

www.consumerdisclosure.com

It can't hurt to check it before shopping for car insurance.

Let me correct my statement. I didn't mean only rich people have good credit. The rich usually have the higher credit scores. Think about the poor Mom raising children on her own barely making ends meet. I bet she isn't a 700+.
I also found out that living near these new car shrines also known as dealerships causes a spike in your rates. They are getting robbed almost daily. Cars, parts, etc. So the same zip code as yours? Auto crimes are now high in your neighborhood.
The insurance commission responded with the FEDERAL LAW that allows this. I should have known, FEDS + money just means problems. It sure is sad that a Lobby Group is stronger than the voice of the people that put you there.

No, paying bills apparently doesn't help. I pay more than minimum. Debt ratio isn't bad. NEVER late in over 10 years! And every month my score goes from a low of 594 to 681. The chart looks like an EKG! This goes on every month! No one knows why there is a 20 point difference every month. I have all 3 reports here on my desk. They are all good. I even qualified for 5.8% re-fi on my 2004 truck. You need good credit for that. I once had Allstate. They raised my rates. I called and asked why. They said "Because of hurricane Andrew." I said that was Florida! Too bad. They can do what they want.
Phil
Phil

The big one that gets me with the insurance companies is this...
State law says you MUST have insurance -
Then my insurance agent asks me if I want to pay for insurance for un-insured motorist!
Wait a minute~~~ I thought it was ILLEGAL to drive without insurance! So why would I need to pay for an un-insured driver?!?!?!
Another rip-off!

I meant 70 a month I now pay 80,but I am in a different state,allied doesn't insure here.I still can't understand why your rates would have anything to do with your credit score.The only time I have seen rates go up is when insurance rates go up is due to accidents,or tickets.

Thank you for providing your concerns to the Arizona Department of Insurance about insurance companies using a person’s credit history to determine acceptance and rate.



The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act specifically permits credit reports to be used to determine a person's eligibility for insurance. (See 15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)(3)(C) which can be viewed on line at http://uscode.house.gov/usc.htm.) The most recent information we have indicates that to date 48 states (all but Pennsylvania and Vermont) have passed some legislation governing the use of credit in insurance. According to the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, among the states, Maryland bans the use of credit scores in underwriting and rating existing customers, California and Massachusetts ban the use of credit in auto insurance through their rate regulation process and Hawaii has a ban on the use f credit in automobile and homeowner insurance. In 2006, a proposition on the ballot in Oregon to ban insurers from using credit to determine insurance rates or premiums was defeated with 65% opposing and 35% in support of the measure. Of the states that regulate the use of credit, most focus on personal (auto and/or homeowner) lines of insurance. Most often, these laws prohibit insurers from using certain types of negative credit rating factors (such as delinquencies related to medical bills or non-existent credit); require insurers to notify applicants and policyholders that they might use their credit history during their underwriting process; require insurers to notify applicants/polic