cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Applying for Car Insurance Dings FICO Score?

tag
Anonymous
Not applicable

Applying for Car Insurance Dings FICO Score?

We want to look around for different car insurance to find the best rate. However, will this cause a "ding" to the score, since the insurer will be checking it? If so, how are you supposed to "shop around" when you are getting dinged every time you apply for any financial account? After all, it's not like you are applying for credit cards at every turn! Thank you.
Message 1 of 3
2 REPLIES 2
Anonymous
Not applicable

I've never seen a case where car insurance counts as an i...

I've never seen a case where car insurance counts as an inquiry against your FICO scores. While applying for an apartment lease/rent, a mortgage, and the like naturally will, car insurance is a different ballgame altogether.
 
Car insurance isn't a loan at all---they'll simply cancel your policy and you'll have a gap in coverage if you don't pay on time.
 
 
Message 2 of 3
Anonymous
Not applicable

Not necessarily...

I've never seen an apartment application create a hard inquiry on my credit report, but I have seen one when switching to a new insurance carrier. I've also seen them when getting a savings or checking account. You should not see a hard inquiry from "shopping around", but when you actually settle with an insurance carrier they WILL check your credit as all insurance agencies that I know of use your credit score when determining your insurance rate. The lower the score, the more the car insurance is going to cost you. Regardless, they cannot pull your report without your permission so ask them when you are getting quotes if they are going to pull your report or not. If so, it's up to you if you want them to do it or not. They can't give you an exact quote without it, but they should be able to get in the ballpark.
Message 3 of 3
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.