How Your Credit Score May Affect Your Car Insurance Premiums in the Tampa, Florida Area

The use of credit history to determine a person's car insurance rates has become a controversial topic. While insurance companies have been claiming that a person with a less-than-perfect credit history is at a higher risk for car accidents, no one seems able to prove the correlation between credit scores and driving habits.

Many consumers in the Tampa Bay area are unsettled by the fact that their credit history could have as much impact on their car insurance rates as their driving record, past car accidents, distance traveled to work, and other common variables used to determine insurance premiums. Lawmakers in Florida are also concerned about the situation. Several measures have been recommended in the Florida Legislature to stop the use of credit history in calculating car insurance premiums.

The main complaint against car insurance companies that adjust their rates according to credit histories is the fact that credit scores are not perfect. A credit score may reflect negative information for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with a person's character, reliability, or responsibility. Often, negative credit reports contain errors that can bring down a person's credit score without that person's knowledge. Further, a person may have a poor credit history because of illness, divorce, a death in the family, and other circumstances that are beyond an individual's control.

If you are concerned about auto insurance companies using your credit score to determine your car insurance rates, contact your state representative to voice your opinion. Also contact your car insurance company to find out whether or not your credit score affects your car insurance premiums. If you have any questions about the state of the law in this area and the efforts being made to protect your rights, feel free to call Tampa car accident attorney Dale Appell, Esq. at your convenience.