Does my insurance score affect my ability to become insured? Yes it does!
If you haven’t purchased personal insurance recently, you may be surprised when your agent tells you they are going to run an insurance score in order to quote a policy for you. An insurance score indicates claim history. The insurance score is a soft hit on your credit which indicates “acceptable” or “unacceptable”. Each carrier has its own guidelines regarding acceptability. Insurance companies view you, the potential insured, as a risk. By analyzing and insuring only superior risks the insurance company reduces the likelihood of paying for losses. The insurance carrier feels a low credit score may represent a financial inability to adequately maintain a home. Well maintained homes are less susceptible to losses.
Once the insurance score is complete, you are then placed in a category based on that score, those with a higher insurance score will get the best insurance rates while those clients with lower scores, will receive standard rates. People whose insurance score falls outside “acceptable” may be placed in the Fair Plan. The Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plans, more commonly known as Fair Plans, are state programs which are sometimes subsidized by private insurance companies. This is the last option to provide insurance to people that would otherwise be turned down for other programs. You can learn more about the Fair Plan available in your state from your state insurance commissioner.
