Do they look up your credit score(or allow to) when shopping for home/car insurance ??

[CTrain]

As the title said.

My credit was pretty good(~710) until I played the balance transfer game and now its rotten(low 600).

My homeowners is being cancelled and my agent quoted me $1600(from $845)
Is my low credit score affecting me ?

 

[Viper GTS]

Pretty much SOP these days.

Viper GTS

 

[BobDaMenkey]

It's been pretty standard to check when doing those things for more than a decade.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: CTrain
As the title said.

My credit was pretty good(~710) until I played the balance transfer game and now its rotten(low 600).

My homeowners is being cancelled and my agent quoted me $1600(from $845)
Is my low credit score affecting me ?

Why did your credit go down for doing balance transfers ?

 

[spidey07]

I think it had something to do with taking out a 15K cash advance, moving it to a zero percent interest account thinking he'd come out ahead.

 

[MX2]

Hell, some jobs pull your credit and check it when you aply for the position. It wouldnt surprise me.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: spidey07
I think it had something to do with taking out a 15K cash advance, moving it to a zero percent interest account thinking he'd come out ahead.

Ahh... you remember that thread too.

 

[Viper GTS]

Yup, Citi will "Balance Transfer" right to your bank account so he maxed out a card to get the interest money.

This is why you avoid high utilization, it will tank your score.

I have about $3K that I got the same way from Citi, but $3K is a tiny fraction of my total credit limits... My scores are still well above 700, even with the $3K additional debt.

Viper GTS

 

[spidey07]

yep. was a very bad idea.

this is why.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: spidey07
yep. was a very bad idea.

this is why.

It's not necessarily a bad idea, IF you have sufficient credit limits to keep your utilization low.

You would need 300K in credit lines to keep your utilization where it should be with a $15K BT.

Viper GTS

 

[dullard]

Yes, insurance companies do look at your credit score. Going from the worst score to the best score can easilly cut your insurance prices in a third. Similarly going from a good score to a bad one can triple your insurance prices. I've discussed this in several threads. I'm too lazy to type it again. Search for me or read the Aug 2006 Consumer Reports article on the subject.

The balance transfer game can net you a small amount of money. But there is a massive hidden cost to it that might catch up with you. In your case, it appears like that massive cost just hit home.

Jedi's example of insurance prices falling by paying off the 0% loans.

 

[kranky]

Nothing wrong with playing the BT game if you know no one will be checking your credit. But in your case, you ought to unwind your BTs to put your score back up, if there's time to do it before you have to sign with a new insurer.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: kranky
Nothing wrong with playing the BT game if you know no one will be checking your credit. But in your case, you ought to unwind your BTs to put your score back up, if there's time to do it before you have to sign with a new insurer.

Luckily Citi is pretty quick about updating the Big 3, if he pays off the transfer in full his report should be updated a day or two after his next statement closes.

AMEX is horrible, 2-3 month lag on reporting.

Viper GTS

 

[Cerebus451]

Originally posted by: CTrain
As the title said.

My credit was pretty good(~710) until I played the balance transfer game and now its rotten(low 600).

My homeowners is being cancelled and my agent quoted me $1600(from $845)
Is my low credit score affecting me ?

Not to derail the discussion of credit scores, but if you do in fact live in Florida as your profile suggests, that would be a more likely reason for the jump in your homeowners insurance. That is, it isn't your credit score, rather the likelihood of hurricane damage. A lot of Florida residents have been seeing big jumps in homeowner premiums of late.

Also, you mention your agent said your current policy is being cancelled and replaced with a new one. Check for differences in the coverage between the policies. If it was just your credit score, they would just be jacking the rates on your current policy as opposed to writing a new one (unless they need to write a new policy in order to work the credit score mojo).

 

[CTrain]

Its more than just the Citi bank transfer I took.

3 months ago I went all out getting all the 0% transfer for 1 yr deal.
I got about $65K out of it and lend it to me friend for 5% interest.
I figure I will make over $3K after the yr is over an no tax on the interest earned.
(Lets not go into not letting friends borrow money, I have it covered).

My credit score took a serious dumping...dropping more than 100pts.
I knew it would but I didn't plan on buying anything.
I didn't think they cancelled my insurance either....nothing happen to warrent that.

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: Cerebus451

Originally posted by: CTrain
As the title said.

My credit was pretty good(~710) until I played the balance transfer game and now its rotten(low 600).

My homeowners is being cancelled and my agent quoted me $1600(from $845)
Is my low credit score affecting me ?

Not to derail the discussion of credit scores, but if you do in fact live in Florida as your profile suggests, that would be a more likely reason for the jump in your homeowners insurance. That is, it isn't your credit score, rather the likelihood of hurricane damage. A lot of Florida residents have been seeing big jumps in homeowner premiums of late.

Also, you mention your agent said your current policy is being cancelled and replaced with a new one. Check for differences in the coverage between the policies. If it was just your credit score, they would just be jacking the rates on your current policy as opposed to writing a new one (unless they need to write a new policy in order to work the credit score mojo).

Good point there.
Yeah I do live in Florida and I hope thats what it is cause I'm shopping for another policy right now.
But I got this policy just last year(after all the hurricanes) so.......

Man, I hope I can find something in the range of what I paid last yr....$1600 would suck...and nothing warrent that.

 

[Cerebus451]

Originally posted by: CTrain

Originally posted by: Cerebus451

Originally posted by: CTrain
As the title said.

My credit was pretty good(~710) until I played the balance transfer game and now its rotten(low 600).

My homeowners is being cancelled and my agent quoted me $1600(from $845)
Is my low credit score affecting me ?

Not to derail the discussion of credit scores, but if you do in fact live in Florida as your profile suggests, that would be a more likely reason for the jump in your homeowners insurance. That is, it isn't your credit score, rather the likelihood of hurricane damage. A lot of Florida residents have been seeing big jumps in homeowner premiums of late.

Also, you mention your agent said your current policy is being cancelled and replaced with a new one. Check for differences in the coverage between the policies. If it was just your credit score, they would just be jacking the rates on your current policy as opposed to writing a new one (unless they need to write a new policy in order to work the credit score mojo).

Good point there.
Yeah I do live in Florida and I hope thats what it is cause I'm shopping for another policy right now.
But I got this policy just last year(after all the hurricanes) so.......

Man, I hope I can find something in the range of what I paid last yr....$1600 would suck...and nothing warrent that.

Another thing of note: It may be the case that starting this September insurance companies will no longer be able to use credit scores in determining insurance rates in Florida. From this site:

In Florida, a rule that will effectively prevent insurers from using credit scores in underwriting and rating will go into effect in September 2006, according to the state?s Office of Insurance Regulation. The proposed rule, which is being challenged in the courts by insurers, would require them to prove that their use does not unfairly discriminate against specific demographic groups or place of residence. Research shows that credit-based scores accurately predict the likelihood of a person filing an insurance claim, see below. But insurers have no way of knowing whether or not any demographic groups are adversely impacted by the use of credit scores. Insurers don?t collect demographic data about their policyholders or the people who apply for insurance. This information would be needed in order to prove or disprove the disparate impact concept. The insurance department makes rules to implement laws after they are passed by the legislature. The original legislation dealing with credit scoring did not include any provisions about ?disparate impact.? If implemented, the rule would effectively bring insurers? current use of credit scores for rating or underwriting auto and homeowners insurance in Florida to an end. The courts have yet to issue a decision in the case. Legally, the rule cannot be filed with the Secretary of State for adoption while a legal challenge is pending.

 

[Viper GTS]

So you decided to become a loan shark with $65K of Citi's money? And you're only charging 5%?

You're f'n nuts man.

Viper GTS