Insurance World

If you have bad credit you can be denied car insurance! The protections afforded to the consumer since the Depression of 1929 no longer exist. The Financial Laws passed through Congress in 1992 allowed banks, insurance companies, investment firms to handle banking, insurance and investment operations. Laws passed after 1929 had prevented banks from insurance and direct stock exchange trading, likewise insurance companies could not pursue banking operations or stock exchange nor could stock exchange companies pursue insurance or banking operations.

This freedom was granted without the subsequent protections of the consumer included in these new laws. There currently exists no single body of consumer law covering the privacy of consumers. The private citizen must fight the triumvirate of bank,insurance and stock exchange through the court system for his own right to privacy.

Some states have allowed the use of individual credit to be a determining factor in the issuance of car insurance. However, two such states, Texas and Michigan have institutionalized state agencies to meticulously govern and manage those insurance bodies. These states have a socialized automobile security plan where individuals having bad credit or low income jobs can obtain economical coverage or liability car insurance.

True, each has rather strict guidelines by which a motorist can qualify for low cost insurance. However, this is a two edged sword! The performance characteristics of every insurance agency and company are meticulously maintained. These involve the speed with which legitimate claims are processed by the insurance company, customer satisfaction (both client and claimant), conformity to state and federal laws. A performance index is issued for each firm and their respective insurance costs are compared with both a state and federal cost per coverage. The state has created its own actuarial data base to evaluate insurance coverage. The motorist can freely view these to determine the best coverage for his situation. The consumer is given power that the insurance vendor can appreciate and respect.

This fact may give some satisfaction to the average motorist but some of us still want to know how good or bad credit make a motorist a good risk or a bad one. Perhaps it is an honesty issue! If I have good credit then I will always obey the rules of the road and none of life’s bad things will touch me. Does good credit mean that you can avoid being hit by a drunken driver, avoid having your car pushed off the highway into the nearby lake or have hail storms miss you? I can understand where the honesty of making constant insurance payments would be reflected in your credit but how does it establish insurance rates?

Reviewing the Report to the 79th State of Texas Legislature, 2004 I discovered that insurance was not denied because of a bad credit score but that it could be a higher premium because of poor credit. Statistics showed that people in the 30 year age group has the worst credit and the greatest vehicle damages reported. My conclusion would not be that bad credit makes you careless. Rather my summation is that youth and proneness to erratic behavior was the cause. The point here is that there is no direct causal relationship but at the strongest an inferential connection.

The law requires liability insurance for all drivers and vehicles. This means that if you are involved in a serious accident, and it turns out that it was your fault, your insurance company will pay out any claims that are made against you. Extra coverage on your own vehicle, called comprehensive insurance, is optional.

Insurance companies based on a number of risk factors will calculate the price you pay for this insurance. Basically how it works is the more they feel you are at risk of crashing, and the more they think the resulting crash will cost them, the higher the premium you’ll pay.

Assessment

Common factors that will be to assess the premium are the value of the car you’re driving, the safety of that vehicle, the coverage you want, will there be deductibles or limits etc.? How much you’ll drive the car, how your driving record stands, how long you’ve held your license, your age, and if you are young, also your sex.

The premium is then calculated. Usually there is a flat per car, per year rate that everyone pays, regardless of other factors. The other factors will then alter this rate, generally upwards. So if your car is especially fast or dangerous your rate will be increased by a set amount. If it is very old, your rate goes up. If you’ve had one or more accidents in the past, your rate will go up. If you’re young and male, your rate will go up. The more of these factors you satisfy, the more your rate will be going up.

Discounts

As a sales enhancement, many car insurers offer a “low estimated future mileage” discount to customers who predict that the car’s mileage will be below some stated limit during the next premium period. There is no verification involved and no additional charge if the car is subsequently driven more than the stated amount. This arbitrary discount tends to foster customer belief in the mistaken idea that “miles” are just one of many classification factors used to raise or lower prices from the territorial base rate. In fact, odometer miles (which insurers do not use) are not a factor but a metric - the only valid basis for measuring each car’s consumption of insurance protection in on-the-road use.

The best way to save on car insurance is to shop around, keep a good clean driving record, drive safely, and choose reliable cars that are not known for their power and speed.