How to Get an Auto Insurance Quote With No Credit Check
Last Updated on August 23, 2023
Your credit score impacts car insurance rates. Fortunately, there are ways to get auto insurance quotes with no credit check.
In most states, you can get an auto insurance quote without a credit check, assuming you know where to look. However, you cannot obtain a full car insurance policy without agreeing to a credit check.
In some states, you can buy car insurance without a credit check. California, Massachusetts, and Hawaii all prohibit insurers from using credit scores to calculate rates.
Today, we’re explaining everything you need to know about how to get an auto insurance quote with no credit check.
Key Takeaways:
- Your credit score significantly influences your car insurance rates, with drivers having low credit scores potentially paying over $1,000 more annually.
- Only three states—California, Massachusetts, and Hawaii—prohibit insurers from using credit scores to determine car insurance rates.
- While obtaining a full car insurance policy generally requires a credit check, individuals can get car insurance quotes without one, especially through online comparison websites.
- Insurance companies typically check your credit-based insurance score, which is tailored for car insurance, rather than your standard credit score.
- How Credit Score Impacts Car Insurance
- How to Get Car Insurance Without a Credit Check
- How to Get an Auto Insurance Quote With No Credit Check
- Does a Credit Check Affect Your Credit Score?
- Best Car Insurance Companies for Drivers with Bad Credit
- Why Do Car Insurance Companies Check My Credit Score?
- Insurers Use Credit Scores in Different Ways
- What’s a Good or Bad Credit Score?
- Insurers Check Your Credit-based Insurance Score – Not Your Credit Score
- Final Word on No Credit Check Auto Insurance Quotes
How Credit Score Impacts Car Insurance
Credit score impacts many things in life – including car insurance.
Drivers with a bad credit score or low credit score are riskier to insure than drivers with a good credit score. Insurance is all about risk. Insurers use as many factors as possible to build a customized risk profile. If you’re riskier to insure based on your driver profile, then you’ll pay more for car insurance.
In fact, drivers with low credit scores could pay over $1,000 more per year for car insurance. The average American pays around $1,450 per year for full coverage car insurance, while drivers with bad credit scores pay an average of around $2,300 per year for the same policy.
Whether you like it or not, insurers check credit scores to calculate rates.
How to Get Car Insurance Without a Credit Check
In most states, insurers require a credit check to complete your risk profile. Insurers want to know as much about you as possible to calculate rates. Statistically, credit score plays a significant role in risk, which is why every major insurance company requires a credit check before assigning a policy.
Only three states have banned insurers from using credit scores to calculate auto insurance premiums: California, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. If you live in these three states, then your insurer cannot check your credit score to calculate rates. Your credit score will not impact your premiums. Insurers use other factors – like your ZIP code, driving history, and annual mileage – to build a risk profile.
In all other states and territories, insurers require a credit check to complete your car insurance application.
Some insurers provide provisional car insurance pending a credit check. You might buy car insurance today for basic coverage, and the insurer adds more coverage after completing the credit check, for example. If you lied about your credit score on the application, then the insurer could cancel your policy after checking your credit score.
In other words, it’s hard to get a full auto insurance policy without a credit check. However, you can still get a car insurance quote without a credit check.
How to Get an Auto Insurance Quote With No Credit Check
Thanks to the internet, it’s easy to get a car insurance quote without a credit check.
In fact, many car insurance comparison websites require no personally identifiable information before providing a quote. You might be able to receive a quote just for providing a name and ZIP code, for example.
Of course, the more information you provide, the more customized your rate will be. The more information the insurer has about you, the clearer your risk profile will be.
Check car insurance comparison websites today to get a car insurance quote without a credit check.
Does a Credit Check Affect Your Credit Score?
Fortunately, getting a car insurance quote does not impact your credit score.
While insurance companies might conduct a “soft pull” on your credit report when providing a quote, this differs from a “hard pull,” which occurs when applying for credit. Soft pulls don’t affect your score and may not even be recorded on your credit report. However, it’s worth noting that some insurers use a credit-based insurance score, derived from your credit report, to determine your rates. Always inquire if an action will result in a hard or soft pull on your credit.
Best Car Insurance Companies for Drivers with Bad Credit
Having a bad credit score makes car insurance expensive. However, some insurers welcome drivers with bad credit as a way to balance their insurance pool.
Other companies specialize in providing car insurance to drivers with bad credit. High-risk car insurance companies provide basic car insurance at the lowest possible rates to drivers with bad credit, for example. It’s more expensive than ordinary car insurance, but it allows you to legally drive.
If you have a bad credit score, then you should still be able to find competitively-priced car insurance from any of the major providers.
Consider requesting a quote from any of the following large insurers if you have a bad credit score:
| Rank | Insurer | Good credit | Bad credit | Annual difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEICO | $1,198 | $1,748 | $550 |
| 2 | USAA | $1,023 | $1,925 | $903 |
| 3 | Liberty Mutual | $1,778 | $2,497 | $719 |
| 4 | Allstate | $1,834 | $2,907 | $1,073 |
| 5 | State Farm | $1,511 | $3,114 | $1,603 |
| 6 | Farmers | $1,865 | $3,227 | $1,362 |
| 7 | Progressive | $1,766 | $3,238 | $1,472 |
If you have no credit score or a very bad credit score, then the insurers above may decline your business. You may be unable to get car insurance from an ordinary company. In this situation, you must buy car insurance from a high-risk insurer or another specialty insurer. These insurance companies specialize in insuring drivers with bad credit or no credit.
Why Do Car Insurance Companies Check My Credit Score?
Car insurance is all about risk. The riskier you are to insure, the more the car insurance company could have to pay in the event of an accident. The more risk the insurer absorbs, the more you’ll pay for car insurance.
There are some obvious things that affect risk. Your driving history plays a big role in premiums, for example. A driver with multiple at-fault accidents in the past three years will pay more for car insurance than a driver with a clean record.
Other factors that impact risk include the value of your vehicle, your annual mileage, the safety rating of your vehicle, and more.
Credit score also impacts risk. Statistically, drivers with bad credit scores are the riskiest drivers to insure. If you have a bad credit score, then you are statistically more likely to cost the insurer money. You’re more likely to make a claim, cause an accident, and engage in high-risk behavior.
Remember: car insurance isn’t personal. It’s a business. Your car insurance company is agreeing to cover your risk, and you’re paying your insurer to cover this risk. Your credit score is one of the dozens of factors insurers use to calculate risk.
Insurers Use Credit Scores in Different Ways
Some insurers put a heavy emphasis on credit scores. Certain insurance companies charge significantly higher rates to drivers with bad credit, for example. Other insurance companies only charge slightly higher rates to drivers with bad credit.
That’s why it’s important to compare quotes online. You might pay $4,000 per year as a driver with bad credit with GEICO, for example, while State Farm only charges you $3,500 per year. Your credit score doesn’t change, but the insurer’s weighting system does.
Compare as many quotes as possible to ensure you’re paying the lowest possible rates for car insurance based on your credit score.
What’s a Good or Bad Credit Score?
How good or bad does your credit score need to be to impact car insurance premiums? To answer that question, it helps to understand average credit scores in the United States.
Most drivers have a credit score between 600 and 750. Any number within this range is considered a fair or average credit score in the United States.
If your credit score is above 700, then that’s considered a good credit score. At 700 and above, you may notice significantly cheaper rates for car insurance.
A credit score below 600 is considered a bad credit score. At 600 and below, you’ll notice significantly higher rates for car insurance.
Insurers Check Your Credit-based Insurance Score – Not Your Credit Score
Technically, insurers do not check your credit score. They check your credit-based insurance score. It’s a similar rating, but it’s designed specifically for car insurance companies.
Insurers can access your credit-based insurance score to calculate rates. If you have a good credit score, then you likely have a good credit-based insurance score. If you have a bad credit score, then you likely have a bad credit-based insurance score.
Generally, there won’t be a significant difference between your credit score and your credit-based insurance score. However, your credit-based insurance score may not be as bad as you think, which means you may not need to pay higher rates for car insurance.
Final Word on No Credit Check Auto Insurance Quotes
Getting a car insurance quote with no credit check is easy: online comparison websites make it easy to get customized quotes without a credit score or other personally identifiable information.
To receive a personalized quote or to buy car insurance, you will need a credit check. It’s a normal part of buying car insurance.
Only three states have banned the use of credit scores for car insurance purposes, including California, Massachusetts, and Hawaii.
Outside of these three states, your insurer will check your credit score before selling you a car insurance policy. However, you can compare car insurance quotes online today anywhere in the United States with no credit check required.
