FICO gave bad info to my insurance company

[Anonymous]

Just got off the phone with "Customer Service" representative, Jennifer.    My insurance company sent me a letter stating that I wasn't getting their "largest available savings" because FICO provided them with a code 089 "Unfavorable number of accounts currently paid as agreed".   I printed off my credit reports from  Equifax,  Experian and TransUnion today and the reports show that I have never had any late payments and no negative credit history.   Equifax provided the same credit report to FICO that I received and yet someone got 089 form it.   It stands to reason then that any insurance company looking to insure me would get the same false information.  SCARY.

When I asked Jennifer if any employee of FICO would be able to produce documentation to validate the above information, she said no, not in her department.  When I asked for other phone numbers to contact someone else who might be able to help me, she told me to go to the website because there were lots of numbers there.  NOT!!!!   

I said I'd love to get the number of her supervisor or the president of FICO.  She said she was the supervisor.  YIKES.   Maybe the president could answer the question of why erroneous information has been given to my insurance company by FICO. 

I have given my insurance company until next week to get this straightened out or my lawyer will be contacting them.  They and FICO are responsible for the false information in the letter I received.   I am anxiously waiting for a response from someone.

[MidnightVoice]

I assume it was not FICo that gave the info, but the CRAs. Isn't that usually the case?

[scramblingin2007]

Are you sure it wasn't a "ChoicePoint" score? That's the score my insu co went with..

[Anonymous]

I called Equifax and was told that they provide the same credit report to FICO that I requested and FICO takes the information and scores it.  Equifax doesn't know the scoring formula and neither does my insurance company.  But they use it.  "Blind leading the blind"

My insurance company said they use the FICO score to determine my insurance rate.  FICO has damaged my credit status with the 089 code they gave to my insurance company.  They are liable for this misinformation used in an adverse action according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

[Anonymous]

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ficos__ks wrote:

Just got off the phone with "Customer Service" representative, Jennifer.    My insurance company sent me a letter stating that I wasn't getting their "largest available savings" because FICO provided them with a code 089 "Unfavorable number of accounts currently paid as agreed".   I printed off my credit reports from  Equifax,  Experian and TransUnion today and the reports show that I have never had any late payments and no negative credit history.   Equifax provided the same credit report to FICO that I received and yet someone got 089 form it.   It stands to reason then that any insurance company looking to insure me would get the same false information.  SCARY.

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I don't see where it says anything about late payments.  It reads to me that you have a  few too many accounts ( and it also says paid as agreed)  reporting than the score likes.  An insurance score looks at different aspects that makes it different than an auto or mortgage score. 

[Anonymous]

I interpret the code 089 "Unfavorable number of accounts currently paid as agreed" as meaning that I don't have enough accounts where I have paid as agreed.

I've never had any late payments.  Every account on my credit report shows I have paid on time(Paid as Agreed).  I currently have a mortgage and a home equity loan automatically deducted monthly from my checking account.  I currently have a visa account with a balance of less than $100.00.  Any other revolving accounts are paid off monthly.  This amounts to 2-3 like Kohl's, JCPenney or Boston Store.

I was told by my insurance company that people who pay on time and who pay off their accounts are shown to be more responsible individuals.

What is considered "a few too many accounts" by your standards?  OR FICO's.

I'm going to be looking for an insurance company that doesn't rely on FICO's unreliable and obviously flawed rating.

I understand that the FICO score is different than the score that banks look at.  But apparently it doesn't matter to FICO what my income is or that I pay my bills in a timely fashion.   

[Anonymous]

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ficos__ks wrote:

I interpret the code 089 "Unfavorable number of accounts currently paid as agreed" as meaning that I don't have enough accounts where I have paid as agreed.

I've never had any late payments.  Every account on my credit report shows I have paid on time(Paid as Agreed).  I currently have a mortgage and a home equity loan automatically deducted monthly from my checking account.  I currently have a visa account with a balance of less than $100.00.  Any other revolving accounts are paid off monthly.  This amounts to 2-3 like Kohl's, JCPenney or Boston Store.

I was told by my insurance company that people who pay on time and who pay off their accounts are shown to be more responsible individuals.

What is considered "a few too many accounts" by your standards?  OR FICO's.

I'm going to be looking for an insurance company that doesn't rely on FICO's unreliable and obviously flawed rating.

I understand that the FICO score is different than the score that banks look at.  But apparently it doesn't matter to FICO what my income is or that I pay my bills in a timely fashion.   

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Sorry that should have read as a few/ too many.  I totally agree with you that the reasoning seems screwy.  

[Anonymous]

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ficos__ks wrote:

Just got off the phone with "Customer Service" representative, Jennifer.    My insurance company sent me a letter stating that I wasn't getting their "largest available savings" because FICO provided them with a code 089 "Unfavorable number of accounts currently paid as agreed".

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First, FICO isn't a CRA as defined in FCRA. The CRAs of TU, EX, EQ, ChoicePoint, and a myriad of others are the CRAs.

Second, if insurance denied you coverage, or failed to give you the best possible rate because of something on a credit report, then they are REQUIRED by the FCRA to give you something in writing. They have to list which CRAs they relied upon, along with an address and phone number, and their reasons. If your insurance company didn't provide you with this, get back on the horn with them and politely requent this information in writing. Generally speaking, you can request a review by underwriting. If they have inaccurate info, that too can usually be disputed with insurance and they have to review the matter.

Third, your state may have protections in place regarding credit and insurance. Do some searching or post your state of residence.

[haulingthescoreup]

I have been collecting the FICO High Achiever messages, and I found that when I had a message about the number of accounts paid as agreed, it referred to the number of accounts with $0 balances --not late, but with $0 balances.

TU especially gets pissy when more than half of open accounts (including mortgages, loans etc) report a balance. This doesn't necessarily mean that you're not paying in full each month, it might mean that many of your accounts have balances on them when the statement posts (which is when most lenders report to the CRA's.) hth

[Anonymous]

Interesting info Hauling. I've been collecting these msgs as well from SW.   I realized that a couple of my cc's were not reporting to either TU or EX and therefore it is important that I watch my UTL and $0 balances even more than I did last month.

I'm trying to align myself (as much as possible) with the "High FICO Achievers" but it's going to take a bit of time.