American Family Insurance Raised Homeowners Insurance Rates because of a credit report Madison Wisconsin

American Family is one of the last major companies to use credit scoring to determine the rates on homeowners insurance. Although it sucks that your insurance is going up by that much; studies have proven a direct corelation between a person's credit history and claims..i.e. frequency of claims and the amount those claims might pay.

Think of it in a different light......For example, if a person was unable to pay their bills on time, whether it's from laziness or living paycheck to paycheck, do you think that person has the money to perform preventative maintenance on their home? Probably not, so any claim they may have could potentially be more expensive than a person who puts on that new roof every 10-15 years or hires a contractor to do landscaping that flows water away from the house...etc.

There are 1000 examples that can be named. You may be the unlucky 1% who have never filed a claim and who will never file a claim but your rates still go up. It's a fact of life. Why is this? Because insurance is the law of numbers. If they spent time to personally assess every single person's risk, they would need 100x the employees which would mean rates would be 100x higher.

So you have to pay an extra $16 a month... it's not something that should go on the rip-off report. You're just pissed off that your rates went up.

P.S.- They sent you pre-notification notices 60 days ahead of time informing you they will be running your credit. This gives you 2 months to find other insurance if you do not want them to run your credit. However, as I state above, most other companies already use credit so you'd be screwed anyways...

I am also a four year customer of American Family Insurance. I have excellent credit, haven't had ANY tickets or violations in 30+ years, and always paid my homeowners and auto premiums in full. Yet, my auto (three cars) insurance increased. I got the "good news", "bad news" speech from my agent. My homeowners insurance went down because I was a loyal good customer, but my auto went up because they were going to lower it in December 2008, they'd just come in line with other insurance companies, and the decrease would offset the increase in the long run. Insurance companies are interested in making a profit ONLY! You're penalize if you're too old, too young and too unfortunate. It's unkind to blame others because of credit, mishaps or anything else. Because there will always be a reason and way to charge consumers more. I found this site searching for a new company. I don't intend to do business with a company who rewards me for being a good customer by lying to me and constantly raising my premiums. I think it would be better if we consumers band together to help one another; instead of attacking each other.

Pugi00 Sun Prairie, Wisconsin for an "ex-employee" you sure are fighting for the integrity of American Family Insurnace. "Get over it" is neither helpful nor an intelligent response to someones complaint. You truely show your intelligence level in all your posts on this site.

As for your defense of insurance premiums based off of credit scores being an OK practice, how many actual people, not imaginary, do you know whose insurance rates have gone down due to this practice? I have only heard of rates going up. Which is the only reason most companies have adopted this pratice NOT fairness, profits.

When I worked for the company and expressed my legitemate concerns over the company changing to this practice, the negative publicity, the unethicalness of the partice ("FTC Study Confirms That Credit-Based Insurance Scores Mean African Americans & Hispanics Pay More for Auto Coverage" http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_financial_services/004740.html ), and ("For Release: July 24, 2007 FTC Releases Report on Effects of Credit-Based Insurance Scores" http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/07/facta.shtm ) and the fact that the main reason for the change was because they knew without a doubt it would increase profits over being what was right for our customers, I was told rather than, you know you have some issues we can address with these answers, I was told to keep my mouth shut and not let upper management hear my opinion. As a long time employee AND customer I decided to find other insurance and leave the company. As well as for other reasons which are not pertinent to this thread. But I bet you think the Federal Trade Commission is bunk.

I for one have bad credit. I make no excuse for it. It is my inability to plan properly my financial responsibilities. As you state so all knowingly, that for this reason I should pay higher rates, that does not mean I do not have the money or sense to prepare for repairs to my house, which I maintain above all else. And pay my mortgage every month and my taxes every year. Repairs to my vehicle, which I maintain to be able to get to work every day. And try to be in good health so I am not in the doctors affice all the time. I also have no tickets or moving violations. Yet my rates go up.

I also know people who are in great financial shape who say to hell with it, race, speed and dodge the law at every oppertunity, yet their rates go down BECAUSE the have good credit.

I think this practice is wrong. And for you to come onto a thread and state "Get over it" "This is one of the last companies to start this practice." is neither helpful, intelligent, meaningful, or a true rebuttal. It is simply your attempt to either get attention and/or defend your unintelligent belief system. In fact based on your statements that consumers should be generalized I would lead me to believe you think we should euthanize the challenged, sick, and old. That the union should never have fought to stay one country and that might makes right.

My story is of my daughter and son-in-law. They are 28 years old, both college graduates, both steadily employed, pay their bills on time. BUT, they decided they would pay off their student loans, pay off their credit cards, and pay off their home mortgage. They could do this because of some money they had received, not solely from wages. They pay utilities for an aged neighbor, tithe to their church and make additional offerings. They have an emergency fund, invest to the max in their work-sponsored retirement plans. They provode financial counseling to people in their community who are in need. In short, they are as financially responsible as a young couple (or old couple for that matter) could possibly be. I wish I was as financially responsible as they are.

Well, because they no longer use credit to buy things, their credit score was lowered and American Family raised their rates because of that. Now, I understand that there is a general correlation to a lowering credit score and the filing of claims, but when my daughter called American Family to exlplain the situation, they told her in so many words that they would not consider rescinding the premium increase. She wanted to talk to someone higher-up who could make an exception, (I think she called it 'manual underwriting') and they had no idea what she was talking about. Well, she works for an insurance company and knows all about underwriting, how it's done and why, and how it can be changed in a manual process. It's one all the time.

American Family will loose a very financially secure customer because of their ignorance and refusal to make an attempt to understand WHY the credit score was lowered. Maybe they JUST DON'T CARE !!