Most people do not understand or even know that their credit score affects their insurance rates. You can take two people with the same age, driving records, neighborhood, cars and family members and each one could have a different insurance rate. The reason would be the FICO score. Insurance companies use the FICO score as a way to determine your rates through their own systems of scoring. Your neighbor with the exact same conditions could have a higher FICO score because of good credit, while your score is lower because of less than perfect credit.
You credit score determines your buying power as well as your allowed interest rates. If you want to buy a house and you have a low FICO score, you will fall into a higher interest rate than someone that has a higher FICO score. The credit score has more to do with your expenditures than what you would think. That is why it is important that you keep your credit history perfect.
The credit score affects your future job opportunities. Employers have the right to check credit reports and determine if you are right for a position, you are applying for with that company. This is especially true if the job requires that you be bonded. Bank tellers, investment brokers and even some domestic workers need to have a credit check for employment. Route drivers for newspapers need to be bonded if they collect money from carriers or drop boxes. This is something that you would never expect to hear.
If you need to see your credit score before considering a loan or insurance, you can request it online or in the mail by contacting the credit reporting agencies. You will want to keep track of your payments history and your credit score regularity for any incorrect information
