Using credit reports to affect your car insurance rates is no longer an occasional thing. Almost all (upward of 90%) car insurance companies check credit before they give out a policy, and the same goes for companies who do home owner’s insurance coverage. When they check your credit report, they will gather the information into what they call an insurance risk score. Over fifty percent of the companies in the above ninety percent in turn take that insurance risk score and use it to decide if you will have a  insurance premium or an expensive one.

According to Fair, Isaacs, and Co., a company which comes up with insurance risk scores which are in use by over three hundred car insurance companies all over the country, while both credit scores and insurance scores use the same information to come to their result, they are not exactly the same.

As a matter of fact,  car insurance companies look at the report in a different way when they weigh the score. In the end, the scores of credit and insurance can end up having a difference of as much as ten percent.

When you get a credit score, normally they are looking at how stable your accounts are, whether you are constantly opening and closing new ones and so on. It’s also important to your FICO credit score how much you owe on certain things. With insurance scores, they just want to know that you pay, and pay regularly.

Is it easy to get auto insurance in California after you’ve had your policy canceled?

Margeret

Thank you for asking, Margeret.

Actually, it can be pretty hard to get California auto insurance  if you have something on your record like a previous cancellation by a car insurance company. This is why it is so important to take care with all of your automobile insurance dealings because if you don’t, then you will have to pay the price. And that price can be as much as a ten percent increase, and that’s only if you can find a company for auto insurance that wants to give you coverage at all.

When you go looking for auto insurance, the company will be able to look at your CLUE report, which aside from containing your claims history, will also have your previous cancellations and nonrenewals. This may influence them to deny your request for coverage, but if they do take you on then they might make you pay your entire yearly premium up front instead of allowing you to do the month by month installment. This can be a good thing for some people, because it is actually slightly more expensive for the installment plan. However, most people don’t have that much money at once.

Another thing that having your auto insurance canceled is that it will affect your credit score. Not all auto insurance companies report to credit agencies, but it is definitely something to think about even if they say you don’t, because most wouldn’t give a straight answer on this. Credit scores are also used hen determining how much you will pay for your auto insurance in California, and if you have a bad credit score, then that price could be pretty high. Even if your driving record is otherwise stellar, it could still hit you hard.

If all else fails, you’ll have to either go to a company for auto insurance in CA that sells policies to customers who are considered high risk. If you do this, you will pay more. And if no one will accept you, then you will have to consider going with the high risk pool for auto insurance which costs even more.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

I live in California but I’m currently working in Canada. What do I have to do to have insurance on my vehicle? I just want the cheapest liability only coverage.

Judy

Good question Judy.

It is compulsory to have car insurance in Canada. The liability insurance is required by the law for the protection from other people for the damage that you may cause in the event of an accident.

All motorist visiting Canada can be assured of the coverage using their current insurance policy if their insurance company agreed with the Canadian authorities to provide the coverage. There is no amendments necessary on your insurance coverage.

You should also get the yellow non-resident inter-province Motor Vehicle Liability insurance card from your insurance provider. This would serve as a proof that your insurance company has agreed to provide the minimum legal required coverage in any jurisdiction in Canada in where you travel. You will need to keep this card all the time in your vehicle as a proof of your insurance in case an officer will ask for it.

Goodluck!

MariCAR