Why would insurance company search my file

abby1234519

Title doesn't quite mean what I want it to mean!

Just noticed my car insurer has searched my credit file 10 days ago. Not sure why as insurance isn't due till June next year.

I'm pretty sure if I email them they won't know what I'm talking about. Anyone got any ideas?

GingerBob_3

Did you consent to them doing so? Not that you need to, as it happens, because a large number of organisations can help themselves to all the data held against you at the CRAs anyway, with or without your agreement. But it would be interesting if the insurance company informed you they were going to smack you with a search - soft or otherwise.

abby1234519

Well no, they are my insurer - car has been insured since Juneish. But I'm just curious to know why they've run a random search in October. I've not changed cars or anything - no amendments to policy

forgotmyname

I get tons of them because im always messing with one quote or another.

Did you do a quote sometime in the past saying you need insurance around October?

Home and car insurance June?

Brooker_Dave

Clearly a blacklist drawn up for loan companies is now a blacklist that can be used by almost any company to decide if a person fits the right customer profile.

redux

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Clearly a blacklist drawn up for loan companies is now a blacklist that can be used by almost any company to decide if a person fits the right customer profile.

Plenty of companies need to do an identity check on a potential or actual new customer, for example an investment company or savings account might be legally required to check against money-laundering before accepting a sizeable amount, but this isn't necessarily the same status or impact as a credit search.

Shakin_Steve

I did a search on compare the market for car insurance. When I next checked Experian there were 17 'soft' searches on my file. None of these would be seen by a potential lender, so no affect on my score. I think most insurance companies like you to pay in instalments so it is, in fact, a credit agreement you are taking out.
I get an annual statement from Aviva with all my payments and monthly interest added. It actually looks like one you would get from a credit card company and the like and even states "If you pay less each month, it will take you longer to pay off the balance". This is for car insurance!

boo_star

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Clearly a blacklist drawn up for loan companies is now a blacklist that can be used by almost any company to decide if a person fits the right customer profile.

Most insurance policies are annual and most people pay in monthly instalments (i.e credit) rather than in one go so it makes sense that an insurer would check your credit file.

Some also don't deal with bankrupts or charge higher premiums to bankrupts so again, credit checking would make sense.

takman

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Clearly a blacklist drawn up for loan companies is now a blacklist that can be used by almost any company to decide if a person fits the right customer profile.

Another person who doesn't know what a blacklist is!. Looks like you might have a new friend GingerBob ! :rotfl: