Does Shopping for Insurance Quotes Hurt Your Credit Score?
Released
on: July 10, 2009, 2:07 am
Author: InsuranceAgents.com
Industry:
Financial
Chicago (InsuranceAgents.com) – With the economy slumping and
people relying on credit more than ever, the last thing anyone wants to
do is limit their access to credit by damaging their credit score. When
you apply for insurance quotes these days most companies will pull your credit to judge
what premium they will be charging you. The idea of inquiries showing
up on your credit sounds like a very negative thing, but according to a
recent article on InsuranceAgents.com, it’s actually no big deal.
Applying for insurance quotes does not negatively affect your credit score. There is no reason to not
shop around for a better rate on your insurance, especially in tough economic times
like these when every penny counts.
The insurance company may be pulling your credit, but it’s important to know the
difference between what’s called a “hard pull” and a “soft pull”. According to the
article, “When it comes to credit checks, there are two types of inquiries: ‘hard
pulls’ and ‘soft pulls’. A hard pull refers to credit inquiries for acquiring
credit, like from a credit card company or a lender. A soft pull is an inquiry that
will review your credit score, much like an agent would to determine an insurance
quote. … [T]he insurance company’s name will be listed on your report, but the
inquiry will not lower your credit score.”
Though insurance quotes won’t affect your credit, it’s important to understand that
your credit does affect your insurance quotes. The InsuranceAgents.com article
continues, “While shopping for insurance quotes may not lower your credit score, it
is important to know that a good credit score can lower your insurance quotes!
Insurance companies and agents that see a potential client with a high credit score
will consider you a low-risk client … They will then be able to offer you more
affordable insurance quotes. Good credit saves you money in many different arenas of
your life, including insurance.”
The best thing you can do if you have good or bad credit is to shop around for
insurance quotes. Using services like InsuranceAgents.com you can compare up to five
insurance quotes at a time and find the lowest rate.
For more information, visit InsuranceAgents.com.
Contact Details: Tom Lustina
InsuranceAgents.com
435 North LaSalle
Chicago, IL
60610
614 286 0193
2010
