About SafeCo Insurance - Consumer Tips - Understanding Your Credit Score

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Understanding Your Credit Score

Maintaining a strong and healthy insurance credit score is a lot like a good fitness plan. Simple changes to your daily financial routine can make a big difference.

Insurance credit score = responsibility
Many insurance companies, including Safeco, use personal credit scores as one of many factors in evaluating a new policy. Credit scores demonstrate how responsibly you manage finances. It has also been proven that financial responsibility correlates to the likelihood of filing a claim.

Remove the mystery
Personal credit reports are available from several organizations, including Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Reviewing your credit and cleaning up inaccuracies should be an annual ritual, no different than checking on your personal retirement accounts or checking your fire alarm batteries.

Little fixes can make big differences
Basic steps can improve your credit score, including paying all bills on time, keeping balances low on credit cards or other forms of revolving credit, and opening new credit accounts only as needed. Extra home equity loans and retailer-sponsored credit cards can negatively impact your score.

Your insurance score puts greater weight on your most recent 12-month activity - so simple changes you make today can pay off quickly.

If poor credit causes you to be denied insurance, you have recourse At Safeco, a poor credit score alone will never lead us to decline your application. But if it's one of the factors we considered, we will tell you which credit bureau provided the information. If you find errors in the report and get them cleaned up, Safeco will rerun the application.

Special state rules about credit
Most states have rules in place that outline how credit can be used in insurance. You can contact your Safeco agent for the latest information on the use of credit in your state.

Check your credit report once a year
It's a good idea to check your credit report annually to catch and correct inaccuracies. A new federal law allows you to order one report for free from each credit agency, each year. The implementation of the law takes place through September, 2005. However, individuals living in some states may take advantage as early as the end of 2004.

You may also purchase a "3-in-1 report" to review your scores from all three major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - for $40 or less.

For more information and to order your free or 3-in-1 reports, visit the following sites:
www.experian.com
www.equifax.com
www.transunion.com
www.myfico.com