Car insurance went up because of new credit cards...

[Anonymous]

My six month renewal came up without me realizing.  Unfortunately this time my normally low rate was up 20%.  When I called to find out why, they said it was because my average age of accounts went down [it is now 7-8 years] and that I opened to many lines of credit.  Total and complete bummer that I didn't see coming.  I've been with the same insurer for the past six years, was hoping that time along with six months in advance payments would be enough evidence that I'm a safe bet.  Anyone else experienced this and if not, beware of your next app spree -- it could cost you. 

[Anonymous]

Wow. Time to change your insurance company.

[Anonymous]

+1 Who is your insurance company? I could understand the rate going up if your scores were bad, but they aren't. I'd do some checking around for better pricing.

[Anonymous]

I am curious too about what insurance company you currently have.  Should you feel like following back up with them, it would also be really interesting to hear what kind of an insurance score they based the decision on.

Many companies in the auto insurance industry use a model made by Lexis Nexis.  It differ substantially from FICO in some important ways (though the score is stll solely based on the information in your credit report).  One such way is the much heavier emphasis placed on new credit -- it's a much bigger score damager for LN than it is for FICO.

Should you want to get an idea what your Auto Insurance score might be, you might want to go to Credit Karma.  If you hunt around on that site you'll find a screen that gives you an auto insurance score.  It's not LN but it will be a better guess as what your LN score is than your FICO.

My FICO 8 Classic, for example, is really high.  Basically an A or A+.  My auto insurance score is a C-.  The difference in my case probably has to do with the large number of credit cards I have opened in the last 24 months.

[medicgrrl]

I'm curious too. I've had State Farm for 25 years...filed bankruptcy, and they still didn't raise my rates.

[Revelate]

Depends on state, vis a vis CA and MA an insurance carrier may not use your credit report and I think there's several others.

OP which state are you in?

[Anonymous]

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@Revelate wrote:

Depends on state, vis a vis CA and MA an insurance carrier may not use your credit report and I think there's several others.

OP which state are you in?

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Naw, there's not several others.  Only three states total: California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts according to NW and CU:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/car-insurance/credit-scores-affect-auto-insurance-rates/index.htm

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/credit-scores-matter-car-insurance/

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My six month renewal came up without me realizing.  Unfortunately this time my normally low rate was up 20%.  When I called to find out why, they said it was because my average age of accounts went down [it is now 7-8 years] and that I opened to many lines of credit.  Total and complete bummer that I didn't see coming.  I've been with the same insurer for the past six years, was hoping that time along with six months in advance payments would be enough evidence that I'm a safe bet.  Anyone else experienced this and if not, beware of your next app spree -- it could cost you. 

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Here is someting I learned while scouring the web as a life pro tip.  Shop around for insurance.  Every year I look at my options and switch if necessary.  I just switch my auto, home owners and motorcycle insurance.  I just saved 2 grand a year by doing this.

It never hurts to shop around.  Most places will give you free quotes too.

[Anonymous]

Progressive.  I shopped around and couldn't find a better rate so I just went ahead and stuck with them.  They said I opened to many lines in the last two years and makes me appear to be a risky client.  I've paid in 6-month installments for the last 6-7 years and annual installments on my mortgage, and never made a single claim or gotten as much as a ticket, but chased a few bonuses. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Progressive.  I shopped around and couldn't find a better rate. 

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Yeah they gave me a better deal on motorcycle insurance.

I will say this Allstate needs to lower thier rates a lot.