Posted by John on January 24, 1999 at 08:22:47:
In Reply to: Re: credit access posted by Chris on January 11, 1999 at 16:29:05:
That has got to be the most obsurd excuse I've heard of! If that is what the insurance company is assuming as there basis to inflate their rates then I would have one heck of a defamation of charactor suit. They would be basically labeling me a crook because of my credit rating that they new nothing about on how it became that way. It could of been due to a divorce, loss of job, bankruptcy, a business deal gone bad, etc. Just because someone has a bad credit rating doesn't mean your crook or are going to go out and start smashing your car into things to benefit from an insurance claim. That's ridiculous!
Your driving record has nothing to do with your credit rating. Therefore it does NOT give a legitimate business purpose to check your credit rating. If the insurance company is going to be offering you financing to make payments on your premiums then that might give them a legitimate purpose. And they might be able to raise the amount of interest they would normally charge for financing your premium, but that wouldn't be enough to knock your rates way out of line.
It's like that letter your link was refering too. Just because your shopping for a car, or asking about financing, or if your going to pay cash for the car, then the dealer would not have a legitimate business purpose to check your credit. The same as my driving record would not give an insurance company a legitimate business purpose to check my credit unless they were offering to finance my premiums. And that would only give them a legitimate reason to adjust the interest rate they would charge, NOT adjust the actual premium based on my credit report!