Some states—including California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan—strictly limit or entirely prohibit insurance companies’ use of credit information in determining auto insurance rates.

Do auto insurers look at your credit score?

Insurance Inquiries Do Not Hurt Your Credit Score When an insurance company checks your credit, a record of the credit check will be added to your credit file. You’ll see this credit inquiry if you review a copy of your credit report, but because it’s a soft inquiry, it won’t impact your credit scores.

What is a good car insurance score?

Insurance scores range between a low of 200 and a high of 997. Insurance scores of 770 or higher are favorable, and scores of 500 or below are poor. Although rare, there are a few people who have perfect insurance scores. Scores are not permanent and can be affected by different factors.

How does your credit score affect your car insurance rate?

(Again, except in California, Hawaii and Massachusetts). According to the III, if you have a high credit-based insurance score, an excellent driving history, and zero claims on your record, you’ll typically qualify for lower rates. This score is only one of many factors used to calculate your premium.

How does your driving record affect your car insurance?

Obviously, your driving record has an impact on the estimated risk your insurance company assumes by taking you on as a driver. There also are other risk elements that affect your car insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute: where you park your car at night, your gender, your age and the kind of car you drive.

How can I find out my car insurance score?

That’s important, because the information that determines your insurance credit score is plucked from them. Get your free yearly report from all three credit bureaus at annualcreditreport.com. Use credit that insurer scoring models favor: national bank-issued credit cards (AmEx, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa).

How are credit scores used to determine insurance premiums?

According to a survey by Conning and Co., over 92% of all major insurers, including GEICO, use credit-based insurance scores to help determine insurance premiums in most states.