Does getting an auto insurance quote hurt your credit score? (2025)

You may be relieve to discover that getting an auto insurance quote won’t hurt your credit score. While insurers perform a soft credit check to assess risk and determine your rates, it won’t impact credit.

Read More: Best Companies for Credit-Based Auto Insurance

If you have poor credit, you may be worried about finding a car insurance quote that you can afford. Fortunately, since getting quotes doesn’t affect credit, you can enter your ZIP code into our free quote comparison tool below to compare rates from the best auto insurance companies.

Getting Auto Insurance Quotes Doesn’t Hurt Credit Scores

Unlike applying for various lines of credit, such as an auto loan, a home mortgage, or a new credit card, getting auto insurance quotes won’t have an impact on your credit score. In fact, it shows up as a “soft pull,” which means you’re usually the only one who can see it.

No matter how many quotes you obtain on auto insurance policies, you can be assured that your credit score will not be affected.

Most States Allow Car Insurance Providers to Check Credit

At first glance, the practice of a car insurance company checking your credit report or score may seem possibly illegal or like an invasion of privacy. Many consumers wonder why the insurance company needs to know about a driver’s credit history.

However, in most states, it is legal. FICO reports that approximately 95% of car insurance carriers check credit and use it to determine risk classifications for underwriting in states where they are legally allowed.

Learn More: High-Risk Auto Insurance

The result of this process is a credit-based insurance score. A poor or just okay credit score could have a negative impact on your car insurance rate. Car insurance companies will look at several different items on your credit report to help them determine your premium, including:

• Payment history, which accounts for about 40% of your credit-based score
• Length of credit history, accounting for approximately 15% of your total score
• Accounts in collections, if any
• Outstanding debts account for another 40% of your insurance score
• Any previous bankruptcy filings
• New credit inquiries account for about 10% of your insurance score
• Finally, credit mix will account for about 5% of your insurance score

Fortunately, since credit is one of the factors that affect auto insurance rates, you’ll see lower premiums once your credit improves.

Why Credit Matters for Auto Insurance Quotes

While many consumers are unaware of this fact, car insurance companies have been utilizing credit reports and scores to help determine rates for over two decades. Auto insurance carriers claim that these pieces of information are a reliable indicator of the risk they are assuming by insuring a driver.

Various studies reveal that auto insurance policyholders with higher credit scores are less likely to file claims, while those with lower credit scores are at a higher risk to have accidents and file claims.

Check out the table below to compare average rates from the top provider by credit rating:

Full Coverage Auto Insurance Monthly Rates by Credit Rating

Some car insurance carriers do not use credit scores to determine car insurance rates, though most do. Learn more about how credit scores affect auto insurance rates.

What Insurance Companies Can’t Use to Determine a Credit-Based Insurance Score

Auto insurance companies can’t use certain information to determine your insurance score, including:

• Age
• Income
• National origin
• Race
• Color
• Gender
• Marital status
• Employment, occupation, and income history
• Where you live
• What interest rates you pay
• Rental agreements
• Child or family support obligations
• Certain types of inquiries into your credit report, such as account review inquiries, pre-employment or promotional inquiries

However, many of these factors are used to determine auto insurance rates.

Improving Your Credit Score and Evaluating Quotes

If you are someone who has less than perfect credit, you may be interested in improving your credit score to achieve lower auto insurance premiums.

Consider the following ways of improving your credit score:

• Get current and stay current on any outstanding debts
• Avoid applying for new lines of credit whenever possible
• Pay your bills on time
• Keep low balances on your credit cards
• Do not close unused credit accounts
• Obtain a copy of your credit report and verify it for accuracy
• Dispute inaccuracies you might find

It can be frustrating to learn that your credit score could be negatively impacting the amount you pay for car insurance. However, consumers shopping for the cheapest auto insurance companies can rest easy knowing that quotes won’t impact credit.

To improve the car insurance premium that you pay, enter your ZIP code into our online price comparison tool below. Comparing rates and finding one that you can afford has never been easier than with our online comparison tools. (Read More: How to Evaluate Auto Insurance Quotes)