Insurance use of credit report Chere Steiner asked 2 months ago
Insurance use of credit report

We’re a retired couple in IL with excellent credit, debt-free and never a late payment. Our insurance carrier informed us our premium was higher due to something in our credit report. We obtained a copy of the same report they used and could find nothing negative, so we asked them what the reason was. To this day, all we get is “many factors” or “certain elements” and the Dept. of Insurance deems that sufficient.

IL statute 215 ILCS 157/35 appears to require a clear and sufficient explanation of what in our credit report caused the higher premium. Am I wrong?

 

1 Answers
United Policyholders Staff answered 1 month ago
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Dear Chere,

Thanks for your patience. We apologize for the delay in responding to your question. As you are discovering, the insurance companies are not always playing fairly.

You are correct in that IL statute 215 ILCS 157/35 does stipulate that the carrier provide an explanation for any adverse action related to credit information.  And that ‘the use of generalized terms such as “poor credit history”, “poor credit rating”, or “poor insurance score” does not meet the explanation requirements of this Section.’

Did the carrier provide written documentation substantiating your premium increase other than an increased premium bill?  If not, ask for this immediately so you can confirm their reasons for a premium increase and contest the increase with copies of your credit report.

You can also potentially pursue the matter with the Department of Insurance (DOI) through their insurance complaint process.

UP has great resources and we encourage you to peruse Insurance Resources for Illinois, which includes a link to the Illinois DOI.

It can be difficult to contest premium increases. Often, multiple factors are considered, not just credit information, such as area risk or zoning reclassification.

Good luck!

Alexis Ricci