Raves, Rants & Roses

RANT: Beware, you are a victim, too.

Each year as I purchase auto insurance, I become locked in a battle with the insurance companies with regards to the notice stating, “You are receiving this notice because your premium is higher than it would have been if your consumer reports had been more favorable.”

This notice is buried in the back of the policy so that most consumers never see it. When one calls about the notice, they are instructed to contact the consumer reporting agencies.

Once the “credit reporting” companies have been contacted … with a fee attached to get your actual credit score, the process becomes an impossible circle with no resolution. The credit company cannot tell you how to achieve the perfect credit score. They cannot explain how someone who has paid for their house, and has no mortgage, can get a good credit score. They cannot explain why they cannot find your car loans that you have had periodically for 40 years. They cannot tell you how high your credit line must be to get a good credit score. Apparently, $60,000 is not enough.

Last year, I spent several days with my insurance company. After getting all the credit reports and finding no credit problems, the insurance company reduced my premium by over $300. However, they would not, and could not, explain or justify the “higher premium based on consumer credit information” of the original policy.

My latest insurance venture ... after hours of discussion … resulted in a discount based on a credit score “just below the best.” However, the insurance company could not tell me what I would need to get the “best credit rating” ... or where my credit rating “fell short.”

The Texas Department of Insurance allows this practice to give the insurance companies a way to increase premiums beyond the regulated limits. The insurance companies claim, “People with lower credit ratings file more claims,” so they have found a way to give everyone a “lower credit rating” and thus charge a higher rate for everyone’s insurance.

Tommy House
Tyler