Tag: credit score

Insurance and credit score make a troublesome mix

S.Vagus
Suze Orman Credit Score Insurance Woes

Credit score and its use by the insurance industry is not well understood by consumers Insurance and credit score are too things that often intermingle without much notice. Many insurance companies use credit score and other socio-economic information to price policies. This is somewhat common in some U.S. states, but it is also banned in much of the country due to the fickle nature of credit and the relatively loose understanding that consumers have regarding their own credit scores. Suze Orman, a prominent financial advisor, has been calling into question…

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Auto insurance premiums calculations seen as unfair

Health Insurance survey

Survey shows that drivers and insurers are not aligned in their concept of how rates are decided. According to the latest results of a Consumer Federation of America (CFA) study, auto insurance companies and policyholders have a very different opinion about what should and should not be used to calculate a driver’s premiums. There were 1,010 people who participated in the nonprofit consumer watchdog group’s survey. Most of the respondents said that they felt that their premiums should be calculated based on their actual driving history and behaviors. At the…

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Massachusetts insurers banned from using credit score to price auto insurance, according to new law

A new law has passed in Massachusetts that will ban insurers from pricing auto insurance based upon socioeconomic factors. Governor Deval Patrick signed the associated bill into law this week and believes that it will afford consumers with more protections against insurers constantly on the lookout for extra money. The ban was already enacted in the state some months ago but existed only as an administrative regulation. The bill’s passage comes after months of legislative struggle and conflict between consumer advocacy groups and insurance companies. Insurers opposing the measure claim…

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Massachusetts insurance agents rally against use of socioeconomic factors to price insurance coverage

Massachusetts insurance agents have come together to oppose the use of credit score and other socioeconomic factors when determine the cost of auto insurance. The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA) will be campaigning to bring the matter before Congress, where the group hopes legislators will ban what they call a “discriminatory practice.” More than 1,400 agencies representing MAIA are currently mobilized to gather signatures from registered voters for a petition that will bear their concerns to lawmakers. The campaign has won the support of Attorney General Martha Coakley, who…

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MAIA proposes 2012 referendum ballot to stop socioeconomic factors from impacting auto insurance premiums

H. Cutner

The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA), a group based in Milford, has put forth a proposal for the 2012 election for a ballot referendum that would stop auto insurers from becoming able to use socioeconomic factors to underwrite their insurance. This practice is already banned by the state, but the MAIA is seeking to continue making it illegal to use information such as a person’s education, job type, and credit score for determining an individual’s auto insurance premiums. That said, organizations that represent auto insurers are arguing for the…

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