Auto Insurance with Bad Credit in Arizona

[james41]

Hi, a question for the insurance experts here--a business owner with a decent net worth, plenty of cash on hand, but currently am in the process of selling short one of my rental properties..also I have a few small collections and other misc. entries on my credit report which over the past six months have absolutely tanked my FICO down to horrendous levels. That being said, I have many years of pristine credit in the past...and zero traffic issues or insurance claims in the past 10 years.

about to buy a new vehicle (for cash)..and realized that auto insurance is using credit scores now in my state of Arizona. So I went to progressive.com to check on a quote for auto insurance, expecting the worst, and was very surprised to see that progressive says my insurance score is better than 75% of drivers, and gave me what looks on the surface to be a decent price quote, much better than what I was expecting. actually, given my current credit score, was expecting some kind of rejection message or "we can't cover you at this time." so, surprised to get a good price for auto insurance.

So, question #1 is: Is the insurance score really that much different than the "traditional" FICO score? Or is progressive going to realize I have a bad FICO when they go to write the policy, and reject me at the time of purchase?

question #2: Does progressive only use my score for computing the premium at the -time the policy is issued- , i.e., am I "locked-in" on pricing for the term of the policy, or will they keep checking credit and repricing my premiums (and possibly canceling me) during the life of the policy?

Any recommendations for auto insurance carriers who might be more friendly for "bad credit" in Arizona?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[djs]

James -

I'll just add, inquiring minds want to know!!! Since we don't credit score in California, I have no idea how that part of the system works, but I'm interested in finding out myself.


Dan

 

[Guest]

Each company has their own version of credit rating, it isnt specifically just FICO scores.

A company cannot deny you covere based on credit, they can just charge you more.

I will add, Progressive in AZ is not competitive, I could probally find you better rates.

You rate should be locked in (company has 60 days to find further claims or issues), after that 60 days, you are locked in, unless YOU make changes,

Some carriers will re-check your credit at renewal.....

 

[james41]

Red Blooded, PM me your contact info please, the board won't let me contact you directly because I'm a new user.