Aviva Car insurance "loan"

JS87

Hi all,

I've just checked my credit score and have seen that my Aviva car insurance which I pay monthly is showing up as an unsecured personal loan. I normally pay in full but this year decided to pay monthly as it worked out only a few pounds different across the year.

I'm pretty surprised by this, I knew they would do a credit check which was no problem, but I didn't expect to see this against my name as a loan. I've done pay monthly in the past when I was younger and never had it show this way. Is this normal now?

Now assuming I finish the year as expected then it should be OK on my credit score as it was a loan that I paid off as expected? But what if I cancel before the year is up (which I can do) or made a claim and they cancelled (i.e. car written off), would either of these show negatively on my credit score? Is it generally an issue having a random personal unsecured loan on my credit file?

I'm going to recheck my policy and small print but I don't remember them saying they would make an entry on my credit file like this. If they didn't say they were going to do it this way then what's the legitimacy of them doing so?

boo_star

It's not unreasonable to report what is effectively a loan as a loan and it's impact on your credit file is going to be non-existent, many people pay for insurance monthly and lenders will be able to figure out if what's on your credit file is a real loan or not.

Briefly skimming through the T&Cs of their Motor Insurance policy agreement does mention it being a credit agreement and a credit agreement being reported is to be expected.

You really shouldn't worry about it.

Edi81

Oh and you don’t have a credit score. You have a credit history and paying this will be a positive.

dunstonh

I've just checked my credit score and have seen that my Aviva car insurance which I pay monthly is showing up as an unsecured personal loan.

That is because it is. When the monthly premium is higher than the annual premium, it is done under a credit agreement regulated by the consumer credit act.