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Do car insurance quotes affect credit score?

Each time you request an insurance quote, the company will ask you for personal information. Whether you use a comparison site or go direct to the insurer, you will need to provide certain details that allow it to calculate the premium. This is the same information that will be used by a bank or building society for credit checks and the insurance company will look at your credit file to confirm the information. 

The information you must disclose

When you are asking for a quote, you must reveal your address, occupation, age and marital status, and you also need to say whether you have made any claims against car insurance policies in the past, as well as giving details of any driving convictions.

The insurance company will then use this information, along with other details, to calculate the premium. That’s why it’s essential to be completely accurate and honest when you ask for the quote. 

The effect on your credit score

Each time an insurance company looks at your credit record to make sure your personal information checks out, this will register as an inquiry. However, it will only show on your personal credit file in the same way as a check by an employer. That means you will see the check by the insurance company on your file if you ask to see it. However, it is what is known as a ‘soft’ search and won’t be visible to anyone else.

That means that any company that looks at your credit file in future will not see it. As a result, it won’t damage your credit score. It will be ignored in future if you apply for a bank loan, credit card or any other finance agreement that is treated as credit, including a gas, electricity or mobile phone contract.

The need to access your record

Before agreeing to provide insurance cover, the company needs to confirm that you have been completely honest with them in terms of the information you have disclosed. Although the company will state that it has conducted a routine check, it will be logged on the file. If you subsequently request details of the information registered on your file, you will notice the insurance company’s name. That search will disappear from your file after 12 months.

When a credit check is registered

Although the request for a quote does not show as a credit check, the method you use to pay the premium may affect your credit score. If you pay the full premium in a single lump sum, it is not regarded as credit. However, if you want to pay the amount by instalments, it will be treated in the same way as taking credit. As a result, you will be taking out a credit agreement for the number of months over which the payments are spread. The insurance company will carry out a credit check before agreeing to accept payments in instalments. That effectively leaves a credit footprint and can influence any future applications for a loan. If you don’t want a credit check to be carried out, ask to pay the premiums in a single amount.

For further details on this topic, or other issues relating to car insurance, don’t hesitate to contact our expert team.

Other related FAQs

Looking for more related content to this? We’ve picked a selection of related topics that you may find helpful

Although it’s perfectly legal to have two car insurance policies running at the same time, it can make claims unnecessarily complicated. As such, it’s worth making sure you only have one policy in place for your vehicle.

All cars are assigned into a group based on how much they cost to insure, with group 1 being the cheapest to insure up to group 50 being the most expensive. Insurance groups are a rating of the car for insurance purposes.

If you’re using your vehicle for anything related to the work you do, then you’ll need to let your insurer know and pay for the right level of cover. If you don’t – you may find you’re driving illegally.

Your job can be a factor when an insurance company is working out how much to charge for your premium - and this can mean that there are certain good occupations for cheap car insurance.

Many insurance companies will price match – especially if you’re renewing your insurance with them. It’s not uncommon for providers to offer exceptional prices if you’re a new customer – but not be quite as competitive when you get your auto-renew price. There’s no harm in asking for a price match – the worst they can say is no!

The level of cover you need when it comes to car insurance depends on what you want to be able to claim for.

In general, the earliest you can get an insurance quote is around 30 days before you need the cover to start.

There are many factors that determine the price of car insurance, and some drivers find that the cost of their premiums starts to decrease once they hit a certain age.

Comparing car insurance quotes is quick and easy, especially if you use a broker or comparison website. Simply enter your details and you’ll be able to browse and compare quotes from different providers.

Generally, car insurance payouts are not taxable. The only exception to this rule is if any repair done to your car actually boosts its value – but the way insurers work means this is unlikely to happen.