Car Insurance Quotes And Information | Bankrate (2024)

FAQs

Are car insurance quotes hard inquiries? ›

Your credit won't be affected, no matter how many quotes you get. Car insurance companies do check credit reports to give quotes, but they use a “soft pull.” Unlike a hard inquiry, soft pulls do not affect your credit score. Lenders checking your credit history after the fact won't even be able...

Some factors that may affect your auto insurance premiums are your car, your driving habits, demographic factors and the coverages, limits and deductibles you choose. These factors may include things such as your age, anti-theft features in your car and your driving record.

Why Is My Car Insurance So High? Your car insurance may be expensive because of your driving history, location, vehicle or credit history. Recent insurance claims and violations can increase your rates for three to five years. On the other hand, it's possible you also just have a more expensive car insurance company.

As long as you're shopping with a legitimate insurance company, it's safe to buy auto coverage entirely online. Many of the top auto insurers in the country allow you to buy coverage through their websites.

Key Things to Know About Auto Insurance Scores

A good insurance score is roughly 700 or higher, though it differs by company. You can improve your auto insurance score by checking your credit reports for errors, managing credit responsibly, and building a long credit history.

Similar to how creditors can use different types of credit scores, insurance companies can choose from various credit-based insurance scores. For example, FICO, TransUnion and LexisNexis all create credit-based insurance scores, and insurance companies also might develop their own scores.

On average, drivers with poor credit pay 118 percent more for full coverage car insurance than those with excellent credit. California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan prohibit or limit the use of credit as a rating factor in determining auto insurance rates.

Why do men pay more for auto insurance? Men pay more for auto insurance on average because they're statistically more likely to get into accidents and to have major injuries. However, male drivers only pay about $51 more per year than their female counterparts on average.

Why did my car insurance go up when nothing changed? Your car insurance can increase if the cost of repairs, labor or health care services increases. This is because car insurance companies raise rates to account for higher costs in these areas.

Why is my insurance quote $1000 dollars? ›

Common causes for expensive insurance rates include your age, driving record, credit history, coverage options, what car you drive and where you live. Anything that insurance companies can link to an increased chance that you will be in an accident and file a claim could result in higher car insurance rates.

Under California law, an insurer cannot increase your premiums when you aren't at fault.

So, if you're worried about car insurance companies pulling your credit negatively impacting you, rest assured they only do a soft pull. Credit takes into account hard inquiries which are things like applying for loans.

All major car insurance companies — including GEICO, Progressive and State Farm — do a credit check during the quoting process. In fact, credit is one of the major rating factors used by underwriters when determining car insurance rates.

Insurance quotes do not affect credit scores. Even though insurance companies check your credit during the quote process, they use a type of inquiry called a soft pull that does not show up to lenders. You can get as many inquiries as you want without negative consequences to your credit score.

Getting a car insurance quote should not affect your credit score. Car insurance companies do a "soft pull" when you get a quote, which doesn't influence your credit score. In contrast, a "hard pull" credit check impacts your credit score. Soft pulls only check some basic info and have no impact on your credit score.