As a former Commissioner, I looked closely at the issue of using an insurance score based on credit data as an underwriting factor. CA Joe makes my point for me when he says one-third of Congress has a poor score and we all know they are well compensated. There is no income level or race information in credit information used to create an insurance score. Studies have shown that when you do try to break down the data for various income levels (uses zip code data)you will find a similar proportion of good, bad and middle credit risks at all income levels. Thus, there are “rich people who live beyond their means and abuse credit (i.e. poor risks), just as there are lower income people who manage their money and pay their bills on time (i.e. good risks. Insurance scores provides insurers with the ability to make reliable risk assessments quickly, including over the internet, and makes the market place more competitive and can reduce u/w costs to the benefit of consumers. It is not perfect, but then neither is charging every 21 year old 2 0r 3 times the going rate to pay for the accidents of a few.
Colorado House & Senate members, do your job, don’t bend to Insurance special interest. Make these lobbist show proof that credit scoring lowers premiums. Consumers are already being hit with claims data that assumes people who had water loss claims should not be written or renewed. This is all about incresing gross cash without doing the proper claims investigations. I wonder, if like our National representatives, how many of Colorada’s elected officials have passing credit scores? About 1/3 in Washington don’t.
You are right most of the bad insurance mojo comes from the right & Left coast. Thats because we have large USA populations. What hapens here, sooner or later happens across our country. I know you folks don’t want to here this, but many of us Californians are retiring to New Mexice, Arizona, montana and Colorada. Believe me the invasion of our personal information is not going away. For now just pray someone does not steal your credit history. Enjoy those beautiful blue shies, fresh air and great fishing as long as you can.
I just moved to CO from Cali, and was unpleasantly greeted with credit scoring when purchasing insurance. There’s just not enough people out here willing to speak up about how wrong this is.
My personal feeling is that if you give an anctuary a group of numbers they can manipulate them in anyway they want. Throw these numbers at the Co DOI with all of it’s 5 staff members and poof credit scoring is alive and kicking.
This would never fly in CA, when this subject was brought up before, some dumba** in CA claimed his client was rated on credit scoring. I fail to see how that is possible since the CA DOI would have to approve the usage of this.
What ever happened to good old fashion underwriting? Credit scoring is an insurance companies excuse for getting out of actually having to underwrite a risk.
Is there any group out here in Co actually trying to fight this???? In CA you have 50 groups poised against the insurance companies if they tried to pass this junk.People in CA are just smarter and much more sophisticated in CA-
Citizens of CO need to crawl out from under the rock and speak up against this!!!!
Dear I rule (but not in CO): My staff, including our actuaries, drilled down into the creation of insurance scores aka credit scores, including having Fair-Isaac make a half-day presentation. Even the biggest skeptics came away saying it is a statistically valid means of predicting risk. It is better than driving record or age, both which are used without complaint. Because the link between risk and insurance scoring is not as obvious as a driving record on the surface, does not mean that it is not a valid underwriting factor. I think you will find many more “dumb” things we do in CO that are not done in sophisticated CA, you may want to head back before you find some that much more egregious than insurance scoring.
When it is all said ad done, it almoist always comes down to money, doesn’t it? Bill sounds like you have a vested interest in getting this bill passed, it will provide profit for your company, job security for your acturies. I wonder, if during that half-day presentation you explained the pitfalls? What are you doing to quickly address correcting a credit score from credit theft? How long if ever will people have to wait to get insurance when the information is wrong? Acturaries care more about numbers than real living people.
You know what? I have a great credit score, and I enjoy the low premiums on my auto insurance. Why should I pay for the poor decisions of others? I’m a great risk, and I don’t mind the insurance companies knowing about it. They, in turn, reward me with low premiums. Please, CA, you’ve caused enough grief for our nation. Once you get out of your multi-billion dollar hole of debt, then preach to us about what works.
Slap yourself on your back Kent, your credit score defines you. You sound like a nice young fella. For now you are not part of the 135,000 people who have had thier credit information taken from insurance credit collectors. Hope you never go through a down sizing, major illness or have your credit stolen. Never knew CA caused our Nation so much grief, did you ever check to see which State supplies the most service people protecting you? Yes we have debt, we also have 33,000,000 people. We also have the best hospitals, best roads, best universities, most caring of the poor and the BEST traines Inusance agents.
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As a former Commissioner, I looked closely at the issue of using an insurance score based on credit data as an underwriting factor. CA Joe makes my point for me when he says one-third of Congress has a poor score and we all know they are well compensated. There is no income level or race information in credit information used to create an insurance score. Studies have shown that when you do try to break down the data for various income levels (uses zip code data)you will find a similar proportion of good, bad and middle credit risks at all income levels. Thus, there are “rich people who live beyond their means and abuse credit (i.e. poor risks), just as there are lower income people who manage their money and pay their bills on time (i.e. good risks. Insurance scores provides insurers with the ability to make reliable risk assessments quickly, including over the internet, and makes the market place more competitive and can reduce u/w costs to the benefit of consumers. It is not perfect, but then neither is charging every 21 year old 2 0r 3 times the going rate to pay for the accidents of a few.
Colorado House & Senate members, do your job, don’t bend to Insurance special interest. Make these lobbist show proof that credit scoring lowers premiums. Consumers are already being hit with claims data that assumes people who had water loss claims should not be written or renewed. This is all about incresing gross cash without doing the proper claims investigations. I wonder, if like our National representatives, how many of Colorada’s elected officials have passing credit scores? About 1/3 in Washington don’t.
Sorry dude, but Colorado legislators don’t read this periodical – and for the most part couldn’t spell insurance if you spotted them the vowels.
Ease up on us though, last time I checked, most of the bad insurance mojo was coming to us from the leaft coast.
You are right most of the bad insurance mojo comes from the right & Left coast. Thats because we have large USA populations. What hapens here, sooner or later happens across our country. I know you folks don’t want to here this, but many of us Californians are retiring to New Mexice, Arizona, montana and Colorada. Believe me the invasion of our personal information is not going away. For now just pray someone does not steal your credit history. Enjoy those beautiful blue shies, fresh air and great fishing as long as you can.
I just moved to CO from Cali, and was unpleasantly greeted with credit scoring when purchasing insurance. There’s just not enough people out here willing to speak up about how wrong this is.
My personal feeling is that if you give an anctuary a group of numbers they can manipulate them in anyway they want. Throw these numbers at the Co DOI with all of it’s 5 staff members and poof credit scoring is alive and kicking.
This would never fly in CA, when this subject was brought up before, some dumba** in CA claimed his client was rated on credit scoring. I fail to see how that is possible since the CA DOI would have to approve the usage of this.
What ever happened to good old fashion underwriting? Credit scoring is an insurance companies excuse for getting out of actually having to underwrite a risk.
Is there any group out here in Co actually trying to fight this???? In CA you have 50 groups poised against the insurance companies if they tried to pass this junk.People in CA are just smarter and much more sophisticated in CA-
Citizens of CO need to crawl out from under the rock and speak up against this!!!!
Dear I rule (but not in CO): My staff, including our actuaries, drilled down into the creation of insurance scores aka credit scores, including having Fair-Isaac make a half-day presentation. Even the biggest skeptics came away saying it is a statistically valid means of predicting risk. It is better than driving record or age, both which are used without complaint. Because the link between risk and insurance scoring is not as obvious as a driving record on the surface, does not mean that it is not a valid underwriting factor. I think you will find many more “dumb” things we do in CO that are not done in sophisticated CA, you may want to head back before you find some that much more egregious than insurance scoring.
When it is all said ad done, it almoist always comes down to money, doesn’t it? Bill sounds like you have a vested interest in getting this bill passed, it will provide profit for your company, job security for your acturies. I wonder, if during that half-day presentation you explained the pitfalls? What are you doing to quickly address correcting a credit score from credit theft? How long if ever will people have to wait to get insurance when the information is wrong? Acturaries care more about numbers than real living people.
You know what? I have a great credit score, and I enjoy the low premiums on my auto insurance. Why should I pay for the poor decisions of others? I’m a great risk, and I don’t mind the insurance companies knowing about it. They, in turn, reward me with low premiums. Please, CA, you’ve caused enough grief for our nation. Once you get out of your multi-billion dollar hole of debt, then preach to us about what works.
Slap yourself on your back Kent, your credit score defines you. You sound like a nice young fella. For now you are not part of the 135,000 people who have had thier credit information taken from insurance credit collectors. Hope you never go through a down sizing, major illness or have your credit stolen. Never knew CA caused our Nation so much grief, did you ever check to see which State supplies the most service people protecting you? Yes we have debt, we also have 33,000,000 people. We also have the best hospitals, best roads, best universities, most caring of the poor and the BEST traines Inusance agents.