US (AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM) : Insurance companies are using credit scores to charge you more on home insurance.

 

Right now, insurance companies are using your credit score to decide how much you pay to protect your home. That decision has nothing to do with whether your house is more at risk of damage. It is only about extracting more money from people to fund corporate greed — and three states have already banned this predatory practice. In Pennsylvania, there is a bill on the table to ban this practice right now. It's been locked in committee since February. We're organizing to move it forward with a hearing, more co-sponsors, and a floor vote. This is how we'll finally get it passed, but all of it depends on whether there is enough pressure and enough resources behind this fight to win. The facts are clear. Homeowners with lower credit scores are paying thousands more every year for the same coverage, even when their homes are right next to each other. The New York Times did a feature about this absurd and discriminatory practice. In some cases, families are paying over $2,000 more annually just because of their credit history. That is not fair pricing. That is a penalty system designed to extract from those struggling the most. We will stop it. We’re pushing this issue in statehouses, producing research, and applying pressure where it matters. The same strategy that is moving this bill in Pennsylvania can be deployed across the country, but it takes resources to win and even more to scale it nationwide. Please make a contribution today to help us take this fight to more states and pass laws that ban this harmful practice for good. DONATE This hits hardest where it already hurts. Lower-income earning households and communities of color are more likely to have lower credit scores because of systemic barriers, and insurers use that as a shady way to charge more. Researchers have found that insurers are often pricing policies based on who lives in the home rather than the actual risk of the property. Only three states currently ban the use of credit scores in property insurance. That means in almost the entire country, insurance companies are still allowed to charge people more based on a factor that has nothing to do with protecting a home. The industry will fight this push from our coalition aggressively. They will claim credit scores are necessary, even though their own data has not been independently validated, and the penalties vary wildly from state to state. This is a moment with real opportunity. Pennsylvania has a live bill. It is one of the only states in the country where this issue is actively being fought at this level. That means every dollar right now goes directly into pushing something real forward, not just theoretical advocacy. Make a donation now to help us win this fight, expand it nationwide, and end the use of credit scores in insurance pricing now. Thank you for helping us take on the insurance industry and push for a fairer system. - Annie Annie Norman (she/her) Associate Director of Campaigns Americans for Financial Reform Support this Campaign

Paid for by Americans for Financial Reform