Not sure if any body got this message from GEICO...following is the email.
08/18/04
FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT NOTICE
As a result of your recent rate quote or renewal, we obtained information about you from the consumer reporting agency listed below. That information was used in combination with other factors to determine the rate that you were provided.
Trans Union National Disclosure Center 2 Baldwin Place, PO BOX 1000 Chester, PA 19022 or call 1(800)645-1938
Since we may have been able to offer you a lower rate had the report been more favorable, we treat our decision as an adverse action under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You have the right to obtain a free copy of a consumer report from the reporting agency listed above, provided your request is made within 60 days of receiving this notice. You also have the right to contact the reporting agency listed above to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information in the consumer report provided. The reporting agency did not determine your rate or play any part in our decision and is unable to provide you with specific reasons for our decision or how the rate was determined.
The specific information provided by Trans Union that may have influenced our decision is: -Insufficient length of credit history (-)
******End
The second paragraph is BS, I have a good credit score above 720.. When I checked couple of months ago. Anyways...any body got this email who checked quotes since GEICO Started in NJ ? Will this check lowers my score ? I appreciate your response.
NBK
DPG
Ancient Member
posted: Aug. 18, 2004 @ 3:18p
This has been going on for many years.
My insurance premium fluctuates hand-in-hand with my credit score.
Alcibiades
Senior Member - 10K
posted: Aug. 18, 2004 @ 3:18p
NBK said:-Insufficient length of credit history (-) The second paragraph is BS, I have a good credit score above 720.. GEICO didnt say your score was low.
Prispare
Member
posted: Aug. 18, 2004 @ 3:29p
BTW Geico is in NJ FINALLY !!
Cataphract
Senior Member
posted: Aug. 18, 2004 @ 3:45p
In Maryland it is allowed by law for insurance companies to check your credit score before providing you with a quote.
Basically it gives them one more reason to jack you up, I have not seen any discounts for good credit scores(all it means is that the rate will remain constant), but ya they will get you if it is on the "lower" side of the spectrum.
SoBeyondTheNorm
Greedy Member
posted: Aug. 18, 2004 @ 4:08p
I'm about to go in search of auto insurance quotes. I've had State Farm for 5 years and I know they haven't checked my credit report for the last 2 years. If they checked it before then my scores were likely considerably lower with less history. So, I'm probably not getting the best deal if they're using that info. Granted I'm still under 25, however my driving record is clean.
Next week in Minnesota Progressive is offering those under the dashboard devices to those willing to volunteer. It measures driving habits; speed, braking, miles and time of day. Those who participate will be awarded discounts up to 25 percent. Though I'm skeptical of this deal...Big Brother... as I'm sure it will be used against users in the long run to jack rates.
In any case, it seems to be the wave of the future to almost do a complete background check before they give you a insurance quote...
sloth911
Cranky Member
posted: Aug. 18, 2004 @ 5:14p
I recently shopped around for car inusrance via insweb.com. all the companies informed me that they would check into my credit. although they have a different scale, i think 1-4(5?) 4 being the best.
One company felt i was a "2" and wouldn't offer me insurance, Traveler's/Allstate though i was a "4".
I am sure someone here knows more about the credit scoring used by insurance companies.
dweick
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Aug. 18, 2004 @ 6:37p
kingofblacks said:The dashboard device is another insurance-industry scam. Who cares how you drive? Let's say you roll through stop signs, ignore speed limits, and drive a lot. How does any of that matter, if you have no at-fault accidents? Oh sure, insurance companies will spew some "correlation propaganda." But smart people know this: Judge results; ignore style.
Smart people know that using the past number of a statistically rare event shouldn't form the basis for a future prediction.
Even drunk drivers usually make it home safely.
Auto insurance is a business, if a company underprices insurance relative to risk they lose money. If they overprice it they lose business.
I encourage you to run out an start an insurance company that gives great rates to speeders, agressive drivers and the like who have managed to avoid an at fault accident so far. Let us know if it's a big money maker, I can assure you that you won't lack for business.
wd
Senior Member
posted: Aug. 18, 2004 @ 8:28p
I think there should be laws against who can check your credit and why. I can understand someone offering you a credit card or mortgage checking your credit, but it seems like consumers have accepted that just about any business can check your credit. I am so pissed off that the cable company required my ssn when I wanted cable, the phone company wanted it. when I got a cell phone, I refused to give it. they said no problem, we don't need it. I gave them my address and birthdate and when I called back the next day, guess what quesion they asked me to confirm my identity? how about what are the last four digits. I about flipped. they said they got my ssn when they checked my credit.
I think consumers are being abused by all of these companies requiring ssn's. the vast majority of these companies can STOP PROVIDING YOU THE SERVICE if you don't pay. I don't understand why they need to check your credit when you are paying for something on a monthly basis. The real disgrace is that the american consumers don't do anything to refuse this. I'm waiting for the day when I show up at a restaurant and they ask to check my credit before they seat me. after all, aren't they extending credit to me since I don't pay the bill until after I've eaten.
We are being abused and no one seem to care. the next time you are asked for your credit and it doesn't involve buying a new house, car or credit card. REFUSE TO GIVE IT. if the vendor says they won't do business with you then tell them that it is them that is losing, not you. We must fight this trend.
shanebo1
Senior Member
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 9:24a
I just got Geico in NJ (three days ago) and they didn't run a credit check on me, AFAIK. Think it might have something to do with the length of time you've had your license or previous insurance?
vkl168
Thrifty Member
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 9:51a
There is a bigger issue here.
I recently switched to GEICO too and got a much better rate but that's another topic. The bigger issue is that I knew they may be using Credit history but I did not realize that they were requesting it on each quote. I was trying different options with their online quote to generate a percentage table of my own to see how the rates compare with different deductible. What I got was over 50 email like the one you posted. This may be a bad thing because these could be all part of my credit report.
So this is just a warning for those who like me, venture off into trying different quotes with their online system.
jayzmahal
Member
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 10:24a
yep, i got teh same email from them. i thought it was just me. but what do they mean though?
DWJoe
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 10:26a
kingofblacks said:The dashboard device is another insurance-industry scam. Who cares how you drive? Let's say you roll through stop signs, ignore speed limits, and drive a lot. How does any of that matter, if you have no at-fault accidents? Oh sure, insurance companies will spew some "correlation propaganda." But smart people know this: Judge results; ignore style. Your argument does not make sense on a large scale. Statistically risky behaviors cause accidents; incent people to drive safely, and accidents will be reduced. You want to say that statistics can be fuzzy? Mayhaps. But since the insurance co. is the one in the business of making a living from managed statistical risk, they have the right to tweak the statistical model to one they believe will more accurately match insurance premium to accident risk. If they're unfair about it and overcharge "safe" drivers, then some other insurer will step in and pick up their business.
jayzmahal
Member
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 10:41a
ok, i emailed them and asked them what the email meant and this was their response: Please include the following line in all replies. Tracking number: MT20040819_0000002451
Thank you for your inquiry.
We apologize for any confusion that our notification may have caused. Although the rate quote you have received is based on the accuracy of the details that you provided on our online application form, any information that you provided is verified through claims summary and motor vehicle reports when you decide to purchase a policy from us. Additionally, like many property and casualty insurers, GEICO Direct uses credit information as part of our underwriting process. We use this data because of its very strong, statistical correlation with future losses. Using this information, along with our other underwriting criteria, allows us to keep our rates competitive. The Fair Credit Reporting Act specifically gives insurers permissible purpose to obtain credit data when used for underwriting. When you originally requested your rate quote, we obtained a credit score and identifying information from Trans Union. However, our system does not utilize your complete credit report.
All of these reports are consumer reports, and the letter that you received is required to maintain compliance to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The purpose of the letter is to simply notify you that we have ordered consumer reports while processing your quote and/or policy. Let me assure you that this is a standard letter that is mandated by the Federal government, and it is not meant to imply that we are not offering you a policy with GEICO. The letter simply means that the rate that we provided you was based partially on information provided on a consumer report. Additionally, the letter states that any adverse action taken (if any was taken) may have been due to information received on a consumer report.
As a further note, our insurance inquiry on your credit report should not impede your ability to obtain credit. All credit scoring models (whether for insurance or obtaining credit) used at Trans Union do not take into consideration insurance inquiries. Anyone reviewing your credit report will be able to identify our inquiry as an insurance inquiry since it is marked as such. Most financial underwriters and loan officers are familiar with the widespread use of credit data by insurance companies. If you were to ever have difficulty obtaining credit as a result of our inquiry, we can provide a letter stating that it was for the purpose of obtaining insurance and not for the purpose of obtaining credit.
If you have further questions, please feel free to call us at 1-866-333-0144. Our insurance counselors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you.
Thank you for choosing GEICO Direct, and we look forward to serving you for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Dawn Hamblin
GEICO: Internet Sales Representative
dweick
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 10:55a
kingofblacks said:If you get me a few million in venture capital, I will start the KingofBlacks Insurance Company. I expect to break even in 4 years.
I have located an investor in Nigeria who has sufficient capital to fund your new venture. Unfortunately, due to political events he requires your assistance to move the money from Nigeria to the United States.
marshac
Ancient Member
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 3:44p
"Insurance scores" drive me nuts. My Pemco policy renewal info came in the mail last week, and I was SHOCKED to see that they had me down as a 640 "credit score" though experian.... and thus only able to get a 12% "good credit" discount.... I couldn't believe it since I KNOW what my credit score is (daily!), and it's much higher than 640 (mid-high 700). I sent an email to Pemco asking what the deal was (and also what method they use to determine a credit score), but I got the standard "research has shown that people with good credit blah blah..." form letter. Has anyone else had a similar experience with "insurance scores" being so much lower than your actual FICO score?
jimboe
Broke Member
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 5:40p
What wrd said above is so true.
It's about time we stop simply allowing insurance companies (and others) from simply pulling a credit reports.
It is total bu11sh|t that a person who has had some difficulty making payments is anymore a risky *driver* than someone who has a spotless credit history. There is NO POSSIBLE LOGCIAL way one could reason that the overwhelming majority of people with poor credit ARE also poor drivers who are accident prone.
Now with that said, if the customer will be paying off their premium on a (semi-)monthly basis, then maybe, just possibly maybe their is some validity for checking your credit, but even there, they're on think ice, since as someone else said above, they can merely drop you if you fail to pay for any said month (even here they can make you pay in advance, which manyt do I think).
There is however, abso-pH--king-lutely NO excuse to need a credit report when an individual pays his premium in full at time of inception.
It is nothing more than criminal, and an excuse to charge one "group" of drivers if you will more money than another for the same coverage.
It's the biggest racket going and these piece of sh+t insurance companies are nothing more than organized crime outfits as far as I'm concerned, and the politicians are in their pockets with no incentve to do anything at all about it.
ItzcuzISTUpid
Member
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 6:04p
kingofblacks said:SoBeyondTheNorm said:Next week in Minnesota Progressive is offering those under the dashboard devices to those willing to volunteer. It measures driving habits; speed, braking, miles and time of day. Those who participate will be awarded discounts up to 25 percent. Though I'm skeptical of this deal...Big Brother... as I'm sure it will be used against users in the long run to jack rates.
In any case, it seems to be the wave of the future to almost do a complete background check before they give you a insurance quote...
The dashboard device is another insurance-industry scam. Who cares how you drive? Let's say you roll through stop signs, ignore speed limits, and drive a lot. How does any of that matter, if you have no at-fault accidents? Oh sure, insurance companies will spew some "correlation propaganda." But smart people know this: Judge results; ignore style.Yes, especially if you live in a no fault state
Crazytree
Senior Member - 6K
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 6:07p
I'm in CA with 21st Century insurance... I *wish* they would run my credit so they could give me a discount.
rdy
Member
posted: Aug. 19, 2004 @ 6:18p
GEICO Direct uses credit information as part of our underwriting process. We use this data because of its very strong, statistical correlation with future losses. Using this information, along with our other underwriting criteria, allows us to keep our rates competitive. The Fair Credit Reporting Act specifically gives insurers permissible purpose to obtain credit data when used for underwriting. -------------------------------------------------------
Pure pseudo science nonsense.... Whatever they tell you - they HARD PULL. That remains on your report for 2 years..and yes..the number of hard pulls does impact your CR.
The only large Insurance that currently does not use the Credit Score model is AMFAM....amazing but true. They will still pull a SCORE report which is somewhat less obnoxious.
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