Originally Posted by
Steelcurtain
When I pulled my full credit report I did have one derogatory item on my credit report which was quickly nulled by the reporting company. All of the other so called "derogatory" items are from MS. Yes, I have had banks pull my credit report, have had higher revolving credit card charges (all of which are paid 100% in full prior to due date).
My car insurance is with Geico, and they just told me they are raising my rate from roughly $280 to $330 for a 6 month policy (liability-only, but with max limits, good driving record but risky demographics). I just switched to Geico back in the fall, so I'm guessing I'm just losing the rate they give you the first time around to lure you in with the hopes you'll be too lazy to switch. Seems like the only way to get the lowest rates is to switch companies every time you're up for renewal. Unfortunately Geico is still the cheapest quote I'm getting, so looks like I'll be staying with them at least for another 6 months.
If you are managing your MS well, I don't see why it should affect your credit score and insurance risk. Maybe if you are applying for a ton of new cards every 91 days, but I for one am applying for a lot fewer new cards nowadays. And I always pay in full before statement cuts so utilization stays low. Last I looked it was in the low single digits. From your post it looks like you are waiting to pay in full until the due date - which is fine, you have that long to pay to avoid interest, but that will increase your util which can have negative effects beyond car insurance, i.e. difficulty getting more CCs, mortgage refi, etc. so it's better to avoid the problem by arranging things so that your statement balance is always small. Also, you might want to consider pulling your CLUE report, as you get a free one annually like with the credit bureaus and it could be that there is a claim listed on there that is raising your premiums through a case of mistaken identity or whatever.
Originally Posted by
Churnman
Anyhow, I think the longer you are with a company without a claim, the chances of a claim coming is greater in their eyes and maybe our insurance score shows more risk and they raise rates fast. They don't really want you anymore unless you're willing to pay that much more it seems. Switching hasn't hurt me.
I don't see how this makes any sense, in the same way that a coin that has been tails several times in a row still has a 50% chance of being tails on the next flip. I would think that a claim-free history, both with that company and with other companies (which they can find out about via pulling CLUE report) should be a positive thing. Someone who has a past claim is more likely than not a worse driver than someone who doesn't, all else equal, because the worse a driver is, in other words the more likely they are to have an at-fault accident, the more likely they are to have claims on their record.