You can get car insurance with bad credit, but you're likely to end up paying more than drivers with good credit. In most US states, your credit score is one of many factors used to determine your insurance premium.
Your Auto Insurance Score
According to esurance.com, when an insurance company determines the cost of your policy, they look at credit-based insurance scores. They use these to determine risk in the same way an auto loan lender uses auto-enhanced FICO scores to determine your lending risk.
The information in these insurance scores comes from your credit history, which means your credit score directly impacts your insurance premiums. Before you run off and compare car insurance rates, you should know what the factors that influence your credit-based insurance scores are:
- Length of Credit History
- Payment History
- Amount of Debt
- Credit Inquiries
Things that don't factor into your credit-based insurance score:
- Gender
- Job History
- Income History
Where You Live Impacts How Much You Pay
Recently, Nerdwallet.com compared auto insurance rates for identical driver profiles of 30-year-old drivers with clean driving records. Half the drivers they looked at had good credit, and half had bad credit. What they found is a drastic difference in prices in over half the states in the US. In fact, in 29 states, drivers with good credit saved more than $1,000 a year on average compared to drivers with poor credit. Only three states – California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts – have banned credit-based insurance.
Overall, having bad credit can impact your car insurance rate, but according to insurance.com, if you live in these five states, it affects you the most:
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- Arizona
- Texas
- Utah
Studies have found that drivers with bad credit in Michigan can pay between $3,000 and $5,600 more for insurance per year, depending on their driving record, area they live in, and the insurance company. North Carolina drivers enjoy the least amount of credit-based change, only paying an average of $150 to $240 more per year over drivers with good credit.
Insurance and Auto Loans Go Hand-in-hand
When you have an auto loan, especially a bad credit car loan, you're required to carry full coverage insurance. Having bad credit won't stop you from getting insured but it typically increases the cost. Make sure you take that price increase into account when you're budgeting for an auto loan.
If you need a vehicle, but don't know where to turn due to bad credit, Auto Credit Express can help. We work with a nationwide network of special finance dealerships that have lenders ready to assist people who are struggling with bad credit. Don't deal with the stress of going from dealer to dealer looking for a way to get a car loan – stick with us instead. Simply fill out our free and easy auto loan request form, and we'll get to work matching with a local dealership today!
