Should insurance companies use credit score to determine policy cost?
468174
I think they should be required to produce scientific evidence that there is a correlation for each line of insurance they use it for.
810963
B/c you never know when stuff can be left on there that should not have been. It also helps prevent identity theft. i have a friend who had a car stolen from him and his insurance paid the car off, and for about 4 years he though it was taken care of. until he tried to buy a house and they would not give him the money b/c they said he had a car repossessed. he had to deal with all kinds of credit companies to get it fixed. it is worth it to check it once a year anyway. it does not hurt your credit if YOU check it.
195809
The merchants really take the hit...the credit card companies do not because of insurance...a percentage of their fees & anticipated profit margins are allocated for loss insurance.\n\nBut, it's been very interesting, especially within the past year, to note the number of financial institutions which are now offering credit insurance....so in a way they're able to make money from identity theft.\n\nUltimately, credit lenders (and the data brokers which serve them) really do not want less control over your personal information as it limits the number of opportunities for them to profit from you.\n\nCheck out the track record of both houses of Congress for aggressively moving forward with legislation that's actually punitive to companies which lose your data -vs- citizen's & states rights to "freeze" your credit file!
1146357
No. You can read about what drives your score here: http://www.myfico.com/
86662
Check The Policy\n\nPayment could depend on the age, cost, and current cost of the equipment.  Other pay off facts may be the safety of the building, insurance agent, and policy.  You can disagree with the agent who settles it.  You may be able to get an attorney if you think they are not treating you fairly or paying enough money.  Good luck
141344
It depends on the insurance company and the plan that you are on.  You need to check with your insurance company.
331179
Because the person deemed to be needing the insurance will know the full facts about the subject matter they wish to insure.\n\nIf you think about it an insurance company are not in the position to know all the material facts about your car, house etc and will need those facts to accurately price the risk.\n\nIn the event of non-disclosure the insurance company may avoid the contract.\n\nHope all of this helps.
396650
It isn't really a score that is looked at when getting an apartment - it is more looking at if you pay your bills on time.  When I was  a property manager I dind't care what someone's score was.  I cared that they paid their bills on time, and that they didn't have any charge offs.
904682
Here in the US, medical insurance costs are determined by a large number of factors. Geography and mortality tables are primarily used to determine premium costs. I recently got my Insurance Provider's License, and that was actually one of the topics covered.\nHope this helps
1035207
Your insurance agent can't tell you it's bad, only that it's not  "good enough" for the company that checked it.  They don't see the report, and usually only the company sees your "score".  \n\nYou need to get a copy of your "score".  Companies that have a minimum underwriting score, well, I've seen that "minimum" range from 525 to 701.  \n\nWhen you say your report is "excellent", you're probably meaning that you don't have any late payments, right?  The score not only tallies payments, but the number of consumer based inquiries in the past year (ie, how many times you've applied for credit - including in-store, no interest offers), the number of accounts you have open, the average balance on those accounts, the available amount you have to charge up, etc. \n\nIf you take advantage of all those no-interest in-store offers, say, 4x a year, have 10 store credit cards with a $2500 available balance each, pay them off every month; have a mortgage and a car payment, and shop your mastercard out every year for the lowest rate, you're going to have a HORRIBLE credit score.   \n\nTo fix it, close all the store credit card accounts you don't use, and close the visa/mastercard accounts that are the newest.    Don't let ANYONE do a credit check on you, not even for that extra 10% off for applying for a HOme Depot card today!!!  It will take six whole months to fix.  Sorry.
900924
At least $40 - but probably will make more because the insurance car company needs to make a profit.  If they are keystoning the amount to pay for the car would be $80 as a premium.
298088
I have included a few links that expand on the answer below. I hope this helps.\n\n\nQ. What is a credit score, and how does it affect my ability to get credit?\nA: Credit scoring is a system creditors use to help determine whether to give you credit, and how much to charge you for it.\n\nInformation about you and your credit experiences, like your bill-paying history, the number and type of accounts you have, late payments, collection actions, outstanding debt, and the age of your accounts, is collected from your credit application and your credit report. Using a statistical formula, creditors compare this information to the credit performance of consumers with similar profiles. A credit scoring system awards points for each factor. A total number of points — a credit score — helps predict how creditworthy you are, that is, how likely it is that you will repay a loan and make the payments on time. Generally, consumers with good credit risks have higher credit scores.
174470
You typically cannot do the calculations yourself without knowing what crediting rate the particular insurance company uses when calculating your payout amount. This rate will vary from company to company. Remember that annuities have two phases, accumulation and distribution. The type of annuity (fixed, variable, equity index) typically doesn't have any relation to what annuitization options are available to the owner at annuitization.\n\nDuring Accumulation:\n\nFixed annuities credit a specified interest rate, set annually with a minimum rate specified in the contract.\n\nVariable annuities have several subaccounts (like mutual funds) that you can allocate among. The rate of return is determined by market forces. You can be as aggressive or as conservative with your allocation as you like. Many VA's also have optional guarantees that will provide a floor to the account value used to calculate your payout at annuitization. These typically range from 5-7% equivalent annual rate of return.\n\nEquity index annuities tie the rate you earn to an index, with a cap on performance. If the index returns over the cap, your account gets the cap rate. If the index is below the cap but still positive, you get that rate. If the index has negative returns (loses money) you get 0%, but no loss.\n\nAT ANNUITIZATION:\n\nAll contracts will typically have several options. The most prevalent are:\n\nStraight Life - Payout based on owner's assumed mortality age only. Payouts stop only when owner dies. If you outlive the insurance company's assumption, you win. If you don't, the insurance company wins. This option results in the highest monthly payout amount\n\nJoint and Survivor- Payout based on owner's and spouse's (or other named party) assumed mortality age. If annuitiant dies, survivor gets some percentage of payout for the rest of their life. This percentage is usually 50, 75 or 100%, The payout amounts are much lower in this option than in Straight Life option\n\nInstallment Refund - Payments based on owners mortality, but if owner dies before sum of payments at least equals the total amount annuitized the payments continue to a specified beneficiary until they total the full amount annuitized. If the owner lives beyond expected mortality, payments continue until owners death. This option usually yields a payout slightly less than the straight life option. In my experience, this is the most popular option.
1019574
If you go to an insurance company without doing your homework, they will sell you something that is profitable for them not you. You need to understand what you want it for. there is going to be a financial balance between 3 factors\n\n1. monthly premium\n2. copayment\n3. deductiable\n\nthese factors will vary based on the type of insureance you buy.\nyou need to determine based on marital status, children, health, age, job dangers, family history and any other specific factors in your life.\n\nyou need to think about how often you will use the insurance. \nif the answer is rarely then think about low premiums and high copay and deduct. If you will be a heavy user then the opposite will apply.\n\nDON"T let an insurance company decide for you.\n\nother considerations would be existing doctors. If you have ones that you like you need to choose a policy that includes them.\n\nas was mentioned above, consult HR at work and do more research. What you've done here is an important first step
81582
The credit bureaus don't disclose their exact credit score calculation formulas, so it's hard to directly estimate the impact of the scenarios you laid out.  However, below is the general weighting of the factors that go into a credit score calculation:\n\n35% - An individual’s history of making credit payments on time\n\n30% - The total amount of debt being carried along with available credit\n\n15% - The age of an individual’s open credit lines (more history is better) \n\n10% - The frequency with which someone applies for new credit\n\n10% - Wild card factors such as the types of credit lines
276293
A negative report looks the same on your credit report no matter how much it's for.\n\nI am finding that the medical field has a very good group of collection agents.  It takes an expert just to figure out your insurance policies.  \n\nWhat do they pay?  What do you pay?  Did you get pre-approved?  Does it cover the proceedure?  Do collection agents get a discount on brain surgery?\n\nWhen the patient is sitting in front of the insurance person in the hospital, they really don't care what it cost or who is gonna pay...they are in pain!  \n\nWhen the bills finally come, it's a terrible feeling.  Now what are they going to do?\n\nJust do your best to work with the medical provider.  They usually will bend over backwords to work with you, or help you get some assistance.
100788
DramaGuy is almost right.  A claim doesn't always increase the premium of the policy.  It depends on the type of claim and the company.