#1 Consumer Suggestion
AUTHOR: Nikki - Coconut Creek (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Saturday, April 21, 2007
POSTED: Sunday, April 22, 2007
A few weeks ago I went online to Geico to get an insurance quote. I used their "short" form to get a general idea because their short form did not require my social security number.
A few days later, I got notified from my credit bureau monitoring company that I had an inquiry from Geico.
I emailed Geico asking them why they pulled my credit report since I did not authorize them to do so, and I did not furnish them with my social. They emailed me back that they have a deal with Experian that they run the inquiry, but the consumer is not charged any points against their credit score. I guess they ran the inquiry using my name and address (don't know if legal). I have never been insured with Geico, either, so they couldn't have already known my social.
I don't know how true this is since I cannot figure out if my score was lowered because of this inquiry.
#2 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Alan - Minneapolis (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, April 22, 2007
POSTED: Sunday, April 22, 2007
I guess Geico does not need a SS number to get a credit report. This inquiry into your credit history will not affect your credit score, it actually is a standard thing for insurance companies to do to help determine risk and thus your premium. However, I have never had an insurance company do that to me, and believe me I will never ever call a crappy company like Geico for anything.
#3 Consumer Suggestion
AUTHOR: Nikki - Coconut Creek (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Sunday, April 22, 2007
POSTED: Sunday, April 22, 2007
Sorry, I was mistaken in someaspects in my post.
First, it was Trans Union that they run the score from, not Experian.
Second, they did not say that points would not be deducted from my score due to the inquiry. The following is from their email to me:
Our insurance inquiry should not impede your ability to obtain credit.
All credit scoring models (whether for insurance or obtaining credit) used at Trans Union do not take into consideration insurance inquiries. Anyone reviewing your credit report will be able to identify our inquiry as an insurance inquiry since it is marked as such. Most financial underwriters and loan officers are familiar with the widespread use of credit data by insurance companies. If you were to ever have difficulty obtaining credit as a result of our inquiry, we can provide a letter stating that it was
for the purpose of obtaining insurance and not for the purpose of obtaining credit.
They also stated that I gave permission on the bottom of page 3 of my quote request, but I cannot go back and reread it since I would then be submitting another quote request.
I will never request another online quote from Geico due to this. I figured (as most would) that if I did not give my social security number, my credit would not be run. I do not need new insurance, I just wanted to see if I could get a better rate (Geico was almost double the price of my current company, which is one of the best anyway).
#4 Consumer Suggestion
AUTHOR: Steve [Not A Lawyer] - Bradenton (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Monday, April 23, 2007
POSTED: Monday, April 23, 2007
Joe,
The reason you got that notice was to inform you of your rights under the FCRA and since you were turned down based on your credit report, they were required by law to notify you of that.
That's it. No conspiracy here and no damage to your credit. Just standard business practice and compliance with the law.
#5 Employee
AUTHOR: Nicole - Virginia Beach (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, April 26, 2007
POSTED: Thursday, April 26, 2007
All insurance companies now use credit to determine rates. An insurance agent doesnt actually see your credit report, they get an insurance score and that is set by the insurance companys criteria. This credit check is a soft pull and doesnt affect your credit score. Doing just a little investigating would have given you this information rather that posting on this website.
#6 Consumer Suggestion
AUTHOR: Paul - Macon (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, May 04, 2007
POSTED: Friday, May 04, 2007
I'm an insurance agent and yes, credit is use a part of underwriting a policy. GEICO is not the only that uses is, pretty much all companies in the insurance industry use it. It is a soft hit so it does not affect your credit score. Also if you go to any insurance website, there is a either a Consumer Disclosure of Privacy Policy. This is taken directly from GEICO's website.
Consumer Disclosure
GEICO uses information collected from consumer reporting agencies such as your driving record, credit and claims history in order to offer you the most appropriate rate. Please review our Privacy Policy.
See the word credit?
The next line after that is if you agree with the consumer disclosure. You clicked yes. Since this is a soft hit, we don't see your credit, we don't know what's on it and we can't even tell you what your score is. Like any other insurance company, they have to notify you that credit was used and have to send out a FRCA credit letter.
#7 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: David - Warner Robins (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, May 31, 2007
POSTED: Thursday, May 31, 2007
The credit letter is really meaningless. The Federal Government requires insurance companies to send that out when credit is used.
It does not mean that you have bad credit. Unless you have the exact highest possible score, you will most likely receive the letter because there is a slim possibility that your insurance rate may have been different if it was higher.
To make it even more simple, say the highest score if 850 and you have a 849. You receive the letter, even with such a great credit score.
Now to say they did it because they were not able to beat your rate is just being uninformed. You can even go back online and look at the yes or no question for yourself that talks about credit veing used. Credit would now be taken into account unless you answer yes to that question.
#8 Employee
AUTHOR: John - BYRON (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, July 06, 2007
POSTED: Friday, July 06, 2007
I am very sorry that you got that letter. The letter is generic. No on likes the way it is worded. Instead of being mad at GEICO, be mad at the people making the rules that makes us send out a letter worded like a rejection.
#9 Employee
AUTHOR: Ddavila - Arlington (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, October 05, 2007
POSTED: Friday, October 05, 2007
That letter you received is just advising you that your credit was taken into consideration when they ran your quote. The letter doesn't say you have good or bad credit, but it does let you know where you can get a copy of your credit report. So NO, the company doesn't go and make your credit bad!!!
#10 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Curt - Elverta (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, October 05, 2007
POSTED: Friday, October 05, 2007
It's not entirely meaningless - if a company takes adverse action based on your credit report, then you're entitled to a free copy of your credit report within 60 days. Normally you have to pay for your credit report so this is a great chance to get one for free... which you probably should do, because if you think you have great credit, there may something inaccurate on it. Go to your favorite search engine and type in: "adverse action" "free credit report" (<-- both phrases, including the quotes)
#11 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Xquizzyt1 - Atlanta (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, November 06, 2007
POSTED: Tuesday, November 06, 2007
What some of the people on here don't seem to get is that Joe wasn't "denied." He chose to pick another insurance company. And I don't think his comment is indicative of his ignorance to the fact that credit is used as a criterion for insurance.
As for GEICO simply being in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, not so fast. I got here to this site because I received the same letter from GEICO. However, the difference is that when I requested the quote, I PURPOSELY left my social security number out of the request because I in no way wanted a hit on my credit, soft, hard or otherwise. I was just getting a quote out of curiosity.
I never checked a box that said I authorized a credit check, and as I said, I did not give them my social - but they somehow managed to get information about me from ChoicePoint an independent spin-off of Equifax - not from any of major credit bureaus.
There is no need to explain anything to me about credit reports, insurance quotes or anything of the sort. I have had credit and been driving for quite some time and am well aware of how everything works. However, anything that requires a credit check, likewise requires some form of express consent to receive your credit information. And insurance companies are careful to warn quote-seekers that any quote they give you is not binding if you have not consented to a credit check, since one's credit rating is a dispositive factor in deciding one's premium. My issue is that I did not consent to such information being acquired either expressly by checking off "yes" on some form, or impliedly by supplying my social security number.
When I receive a response from GEICO, I will come back to post and let you know what I have discovered with regard to a practice that appears to be unscrupulous at the least, and illegal at the worst.
#12 Consumer Suggestion
AUTHOR: Mssurles - Glen Burnie (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, November 06, 2007
POSTED: Tuesday, November 06, 2007
All inquiries affect your credit score. That doesnt even make sense? Thats why it is an inquiry and that is why it shows up on your credit report. I use to work for Nissan as a Sales Consultant. And yes all inquries hurt your credit score. I think your score is decreases for 2 points ( dont quote me) for every inquiry. But yes we would tell them that too to get them to buy a car "Oh it won't hurt your credit" Yeah right of course it does.
#13 Employee
AUTHOR: Mrbipolar - Byron (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, December 12, 2007
POSTED: Wednesday, December 12, 2007
I do understand you being upset by this ordeal as that letter that is sent out is probably not worded the way it should be. Basically it should say something to the effect of "The reason you got the rate that you got was due to either credit, driving history, etc... or a combination of stated things." But alas, it does not, and trust me GEICO associates hate that letter for that very reason because it generates a lot of angry calls in which we have to explain the letter and FCRA and what not.
In Regards to the running of credit GEICO follows a credit procedure which allows a customer (whether calling or going online) to select or state if they would be fine or object to thier credit being run. Depending on where you live in the US the statement will be different. It most commonly appears as stating that GEICO uses "consumer reports" but can just directly say that "we review applicant's credit in order to quote the most appropriate rate". Now in the online quote there is not always a box that says "yes or no" by clicking the continue button you are giving consent for reports to be run... just like if you are on the phone with a representative... if you stay silent after the statement is made then the representative can only assume that you don't mind and continue with the application. Now as to the SSN being given... credit can be run without a SSN in the application via internet or phone... credit nowadays can be simply run using first and last name as well as address. So even if you think that credit needs a SSN it does not. So if you don't want your credit run tell the representative you are speaking with, but always remember that credit can affect your rate.
#14 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Lurchbyrep - Battle Ground (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Thursday, August 21, 2008
POSTED: Thursday, August 21, 2008
It would be good for those who think their credit-worthiness is being impeded upon to take a deep breath. Common to popular belief, it is not always necessary for a company to gain your permission to perform an inquiry on your credit. Have you ever received an offer in the mail for "pre-approval" for some kind of credit? These are usually not empty words, whether or not you receive final approval in the end. Many companies do in fact perform inquiries into your credit without your consent, and even without your knowledge. Prior to my understanding of how this works, I had seen some of these happenings in checking my own credit report with Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian. At first, I was a bit appalled and frightened at how this could have happened and how it might affect me. It has been mentioned on here that certain individuals don't want their credit checked whether it is "hard or soft". This is irrelevant, because a "soft" pull does not require your consent or knowledge, and because of this IT DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR CREDIT-WORTHINESS IN THE LEAST. Yes, these inquiries remain on your report, however they are entirely neutral when it comes to your credit score or in determining your personal credit risk.
One of the previous rebuttles was from one who worked in insurance, and it was stated that only a "soft" credit pull is performed for insurance underwriting. Whether this is the case is certainly a good question to ask a potential insurance company, but if it is indeed so, then there's no sense in fussing about the issue; in fact, it is a non-issue altogether.
I hope this understanding can help others sleep a little better at night, as it has served me.
Peace.
#15 Employee
AUTHOR: Jeff - Macon (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, April 17, 2009
POSTED: Friday, April 17, 2009
the credit report that Geico uses does not effect your credit score........the letter you received is a standard letter that is sent to everyone that receives a quote from Geico.....it letter is worded the same to everyone per the law whether they have good credit or bad credit.
#16 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Ray - Colonial Heights (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
POSTED: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Number one item the auto insurance need to know is:
Can you make a monthly or yealy payment on auto insurance?
Think about their credit history in past money spending. Did it fail to pay the house payment? Did it spend over the checking account? Did it paid on time on credit card? Did you make on time on payment contact?
This is the reason the insurance take the risk on payment schedule.
So suppost you did not pay the auto insurance on the 1st day of month and you have the wreck on the 10th day (still do not pay on insurance). What risk will insurance do on this? Will it pay the repair or reject the repair on your own car? If happen other people car, your insurance will have to pay if your fault. Now who's money is this? Not your payment, it come from insurance lack of fund resource (limit). This is where insurance will lose money. Note: Insurance have three reserve resource, one is uninsurance (some limit), regular (free limit), and non-payment account (very limit). By state law, insurance can keep small amount from people payment into non-payment account. Once it set, it lock for that amount (very, very small reserve). No money can get from another cusotmers account. Anything loss is pay by insurance own account (profit). Stockholder will not like this.
#17 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Geico Vet Consumer - Stamford (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, May 08, 2009
POSTED: Friday, May 08, 2009
I've been a Geico customer for 16 years, and have never had trouble with them as you have described.
#18 Consumer Comment
AUTHOR: Jocko - Biloxi (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, May 22, 2009
POSTED: Friday, May 22, 2009
I have been with Geico since 1986 and have not had any problems with them. My original exposure was while I was stationed in the UK with the USAF. My only options of insurance was Loyd's of London or Geico; I went with Geico. When I returned from my 5 years in the UK I called around to get quotes and everyone except Geico put me in a high risk group due to the faster speeds driven in the UK and Germany. I still shop around with everyone who promises to be cheaper yet Geico is always cheaper. I had a accident a few years ago where a really old lady hit me broadside in my Camaro and Geico helped me recover funds from All State. Say what you will but I love Geico and they have treated me well since 86; so I would consider myself a person who has the ability to judge a company because of my longevity with them.
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