Reader’s Question:

Hi, I live in Naperville Illinois. My question is: Does getting rate quotes in Illinois affect your credit score since the auto insurance companies check your credit history?

Jonas

Naperville, IL

Most auto insurance companies in Naperville IL do check credit scores when determining insurance rates. It is true that credit rating companies like Experian, Trans Union and Equifax have been known to use inquiries towards your credit report to impact your credit score. These queries that affect your credit score are queries for getting credit NOT inquiries that review your credit (like an auto insurance quote) or use credit as a portion of your insurance score.

The exact formula for calculating credit scores are closely guarded as secrets. Usually, most recently developed credit scores recognize when a person is shopping for auto insurance and either ignore multiple inquiries or count them as only one inquiry if they occur within a specific period of time.