Congress Strives to Keep Insurance Companies From Using Credit Scores to Set Rates

July 23, 2012

Spring Hill, Florida – Two House Democrats from Michigan introduced the Ban the Use of Credit Scores in Auto Insurance Act last week as a response to plunging credit scores and sharply rising auto insurance rates.

The bill would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act so consumer credit reports could not be used to determine auto insurance rates. Should this change take effect, insurance rates in Michigan as well as Florida and around the country would significantly drop.

This bill is an attempt to end unfair insurance rating factors and keep citizens from being penalized for unnecessary factors outside their control.

Auto insurers will probably combat the bill, as they consider consumer credit scores to indicate whether or not people can pay their bills. Like other financial institutions, insurance companies have increased their premiums as the risk for non-payment rises.

Insurance companies use credit scores to do two things: determine whether consumers can receive auto insurance at all and dictate what consumers will pay for their premiums. This practice is just one of the tricky tactics used by insurance companies to make money at the expense of consumers. This practice hurts the poor, those who pay their bills with cash, those with little credit and those who have endured any type of financial crisis. The method to the math – lower scores pay higher premiums.

Remember, this is not the only trick that insurance companies have up their sleeve in regards to your auto insurance policy. Should you suffer injuries in a car accident, you will be facing insurance adjusters and lawyers that are only interested in protecting the insurance company’s bottom line. Insurance companies are always looking for a loophole or a way to pay the least amount they can for your claim. Your insurance adjuster may try and use one of their company’s many sneaky tactics, possibly including:

• Offering a quick and unfair settlement. By getting you to accept a lowball offer, the insurance company is able to get rid of your claim for as quick and cheap as possible. Once you accept that settlement, you are ineligible to receive any more money even if your injuries get worse.
• Reduce your claim by making you look like a liar. Insurance adjusters will likely try and tell you that you are exaggerating your injuries. They will hire an independent doctor to perform an independent medical examination so that they can try to reduce the amount of compensation you will receive.
• Interpret insurance policies in their favor. Insurance adjuster or insurance company lawyers will try and interpret your insurance policy against you. Their tactics to confuse you are just another way to reduce or refuse your claim.

No matter how they do it, insurance companies will attempt to work against you any way they can. You are up against a large corporation only looking to increase its profits and protect its shareholders. The Hernando County Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can stand up for your rights and protect your interests at all times. We can easily recognize the strategies insurance companies use to avoid responsibility or flat out deny your claim. We can protect your interests, both in and out of court, and help you obtain the just compensation you deserve.

If you have been injured in a car accident throughout Hernando County, contact the Hernando County Injury Attorneys at Whittel & Melton online or call 352-666-2121.