Insurance Credit Scoring Assitance

[Insurance Monkey]

I have found a site that answers my customers questions on specifically what they need to do to increase their insurance credit scores. http://www.Insurancescore.net has saved me from losing several customers and they even pay me a referral fee.

I am not trying to sound like a fanboy, but being able to refer the questions that I cannot answer to them has helped my agency a great deal. The referred clients have only had good things to say about them and I have seen increases of up to four rating tiers. It is nice to finally have a place that helps explain the mystery of insurance scores to the agent and our clients.

[independent guy]

Interesting site... You look like a spammer to me though, that's a pay site!

[Insurance Monkey]

The service to the client costs, but there is a bunch of good infomation that is free on the site as well.

I just thought it may be helpful to other agents out there who are put up with the credit scoring thing keeping customers that I would like to keep from going out the door. Kind of a win, win. I get a referral fee and keep a happy client, the client does pay for the service but saves much more on their premiums.

[InsAgentSF]

But how does the client save money?

[Insurance Monkey]

It saves the client money by raising their insurance credit score and therefore qualifing them for a better discount or tier when we repull their score.
My company (American National) repulls insurance scores once a year. We will also allow a customer to submit evidence that an error has been corrected on their credit report and we will rescore them that day and adjust the premiums. They will even give them credit going back to when the current term started.

[darnovak]

Methinks "credit scoring" is one of the greatest money-making and legal redlining schemes in a long time. We go online and quote a personal auto for Joe Lunchbox. The carrier accesses "Score-o-matic" and obtains a DMV Extract and CLUE report for Joe. Somebody has to pay "Score-o-matic" because they are a business and not a philanthropic organization. If my agency does not pay, the carrier pays. Joe ultimately pays. So by the magic of "junk science backwards research" the "secret scoring" formula inculcates that Joe (who has never had an accident, claim, or late pay on any of his personal auto insurance policies) belongs in tier ZZ (highest rates) because the secret formula thinks he might be likely to submit a claim. Why ? Because he paid 34 consecutive bills on the due date at his neighborhood Sears store and the payments were not credited against his account until Sears Revolving Credit had it in their 29% interest grubbing paws three days later so Joe has a flag that indicates "bad pay". Joe didn't read the 3000 word micro print in the revolving charge account stating this (convenient) requirement for payments to be considered "timely". So a highly desirable PAP account becomes negatively "scored". I wish I had invented "credit scoring" and patented it and I was sucking $ out of all the victims of this country-wide scam.

[fdbyrne]

Anyway......

Insurance Monkey. I've never heard of this InsuranceScore.net. How long have you been using them?

[darnovak]

Anyway..... just like the telephone companies with caller ID. Buy ID block. They buy ID Block Unblock. You buy ID Block Unblock Block. $ $ $
See the pattern ? This is as good as when the 900 numbers were sent en- mass to pagers! So you call the 900 number at $6.95 per minute and are put on hold "all of our representatives are busy....". After 3 or 4 minutes the recording gives you an alternate 900 number for faster service. Bend over America......... And after 35 years in the P&C business, I am serious about this nonsense. Credit scoring has no cause and effect relationship to P&C losses other than theory created by backwards (junk science) research. There was no study started 20 years ago, data compiled, and absolute proof revealed that a low credit score is a direct influence on P&C claims. What trash. I'll be on my way now. Thanks for reading my rant.

[Insurance Monkey]

fdbyrne,

I found the site a few months ago and they have been able to help every client that I have referred over to them so far.

The part that I really like is that they do not require my client to give them their SS#. Nowadays everyone is worried about giving that out, even to their insurance company let alone some website.

[fdbyrne]

Really, no SSN? I thought that everything credit related required a SSN to acces the reports.

[Insurance Monkey]

They just need a copy of the clients credit report to do their analysis. If the clients SS# is listed on the report, it can be removed prior to sending it to them.

[Brandy]

Mmmmm......they'll help increase you're credit score but they don't need a SS# to do it. Interesting, very very interesting.

Sounds to me like another scam of insurance credit scoreing to me. Wonder who the dumb @ss was that decided we all needed to pay premiums according to our credit rating, let me think.........oh ya the big insurance CEO's who needed another mulit million dollar home or a bigger yachet ...... while we agents grind grind grind away for simple commissions with hopes of reaching those much talked about renewals so we could golf all day long and go to Hawaii for the annual company convention. But, I'm not bitter...................LOL

[fdbyrne]

You guys are so upset about insurance companies using credit information. That's understandable. What's not understandable is why you scoff at an idea that may help you get around it.

Complaining won't keep the companies from using the information. We all know that us as agents aren't going to convince them to quit using it. I don't like the idea much either but if you do a little research you'll find out that state after state has done studies to disprove it in hopes of banning the practice and the few that have banned it admitted that it works.

Whether we like it or not I don't see it changing any time soon.

[darnovak]

Just like a lot of other things that have been "put over" on the American buying public, it is a one-way street and we now have to deal with it. Human ingenuity is an amazing tool for findind ways to get around the hurdles. Here's one of my favorites: car theft alarms. They cost an additional $1000 or so to be integrated into the manufacture of the vehicle. How many times a day to you hear one go off ? How many of those times do law enforcement officials show up, etc. ZERO. A huge waste of money! Try and purchase a new car without one! Very difficult - you are stuck with paying for something completely useless! Useless? Of course - if they really worked and thousands and thousands of car thieves were "put out of commission" because of the alarms, we would be seeing page 1 headlines. Not happening eh ? Again, we are forced to spend $ on something totally worthless from a prevention and cure standpoint. Now LOJACK is worth every penny - it might prevent theft, but it sure assists in the recovery of vehicles and apprehension of thieves, etc. The typical theft alarm ? Piece of useless crap but again - bend over America - here it somes. Greed powers this country.

[Brandy]

Q: How is an insurance score different from a credit score?

A: Insurance scores and credit scores are much more different than most people believe. It is true that they are both calculated from information found on your credit report, but the similarities stop there. Insurance scores and credit scores are really nothing more than tools. Like any tool, each has a specific application. Just like you wouldn't use a screwdriver to hammer in a nail, an insurance company wouldn't use your credit score to determine whether or not you are a good insurance risk.

Your credit score is a tool used by a bank or a mortgage company to determine whether or not you are a good credit risk. If you have a low credit score, you may be turned down for a loan or you may pay a higher interest rate on your mortgage. Your insurance score is a tool used by an insurance company to determine whether or not you are a good insurance risk. If you have a low insurance score you may be turned down for insurance or you may pay a higher premium than somebody that has a higher insurance score.

Now, to me it looks as if the score for insurance and/or lending is the same not different. Higher rate for low score lower rate for high score. You may think I'm scoffing but frankly I'm tired of bending over and taking it!!!! Insurance scores DO NOT determin claim fileings, however the following does, car accidents, hail, high winds and tornados, dog bites, etc etc etc. The majority of claims filed and loss ratio due to the claim can not be avoided or determined by a high or low credit score. You can lock up your dog to prevent bites, drive cautiously and hope everyone around you does as well, keep your plumbing in order and replace your roof when it's bad but you can't control the weather or careless drivers.

Insurance Scoreing is just another way to bang the consumer !!! If we can change the constitution, challenge the laws VOTED in and a judge can reverse the vote (ie California), raise the tax on cigarettes and liquor for health care then by george we should be able to scoff and argue this rediculous insurance underwriting TOOL and not only help our customers but help ourselves as well. STOP giving away your rights America and start fighting back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!