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Does a Home Insurance Quote Affect Your Credit Score?
July 1, 2025
Quick Answers
Requesting a home insurance quote typically triggers a soft inquiry on your credit report, a routine step for insurers.
These soft inquiries are only visible to you and do not affect your credit score, unlike hard inquiries from loan applications.
You can confidently shop for and compare multiple insurance quotes without any negative impact on your credit standing.
What Is a Home Insurance Quote?
A home insurance quote is an estimated price for a policy from a particular insurance company. This personalized estimate is based on a range of factors, including your home's characteristics and your chosen coverage amounts. Insurers also look at your personal details, like your past insurance claims, to determine the final premium.
To generate this quote, insurers collect data to determine the likelihood you'll file a claim. This process often includes a soft pull of your credit history, which helps them create a credit-based insurance score. Importantly, this type of inquiry is not visible to lenders and has no impact on your actual credit score.
How Getting a Home Insurance Quote Could Affect Your Credit Score
Worried that shopping for home insurance will ding your credit score? It’s a common concern, but rest assured—getting a quote is typically a 'soft inquiry' that won't impact your score.
- You Request a Quote: When you ask for a home insurance quote, you provide personal details and typically grant the insurer permission to review your credit history as part of their underwriting process.
- The Insurer Performs a Soft Inquiry: The insurance company runs a 'soft pull' on your credit. Unlike a 'hard inquiry' for a new loan or credit card, this type of check does not affect your credit score.
- A Credit-Based Insurance Score is Generated: Insurers use specific information from your credit report, such as payment history, to calculate a credit-based insurance score. This score is separate from your FICO or VantageScore and is used to predict insurance losses.
- Your Premium is Determined: This insurance score, combined with other factors like your home's location and your claims history, is used to determine your final premium. Your actual credit score remains unchanged throughout this process.
How Much Will Getting a Home Insurance Quote Affect Your Credit Score?
When you request a home insurance quote, insurers often check a version of your credit history. Here are a few key things to understand about how this process can impact your credit score.
- Soft vs. Hard Inquiries: Insurance quotes typically result in a soft inquiry on your credit report, not a hard one. Unlike hard inquiries for loans, these soft pulls do not affect your credit score.
- Credit-Based Insurance Score: Insurers use a credit-based insurance score, which is different from your standard FICO or VantageScore. This score predicts insurance risk and is calculated using elements from your credit history.
- State Regulations: Some states have laws that limit or ban the use of credit information for home insurance underwriting. Check your local regulations to see if this practice is permitted in your area.
How You Can Avoid Getting a Home Insurance Quote Affecting Your Credit Score
Focus on Soft Inquiries
Most insurers use a "soft pull" to generate a quote, which doesn't affect your credit score. This is different from a "hard inquiry" used for loan applications. You can often confirm with the provider that they are only performing a soft credit check for the quote.
Work With an Independent Agent
An independent insurance agent can shop for quotes from multiple carriers on your behalf. This approach typically involves a single initial inquiry, preventing numerous checks from different companies that could potentially be registered on your credit report, even if they are soft pulls.
Ways to Improve Your Credit Score
Improving your credit score is entirely possible with consistent, positive financial habits. With a few proven methods, you can see meaningful changes in as little as three to six months, enhancing your overall financial health.
- Monitor Your Credit Reports. Regularly obtain your free credit reports from all three major bureaus to check for inaccuracies, track your progress, and spot any signs of identity theft.
- Set Up Automatic Payments. Your payment history is the biggest factor in your score, so setting up automatic payments for all your bills is a simple way to ensure you never miss a due date.
- Lower Your Credit Utilization. Aim to use less than 30% of your total available credit. You can achieve this by paying down balances or requesting a credit limit increase on your existing cards.
- Become an Authorized User. Ask a trusted person with a strong credit history to add you as an authorized user on their credit card account to benefit from their positive payment history.
- Diversify Your Credit Mix. Lenders like to see that you can responsibly manage different types of credit, such as a mix of credit cards, installment loans, and mortgages.
- Limit Hard Inquiries. Avoid applying for too much new credit at once, as each application can trigger a hard inquiry that temporarily lowers your score.
The Bottom Line
Getting a home insurance quote typically results in a soft inquiry, which allows you to shop for rates from various providers without negatively affecting your credit score.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will getting multiple home insurance quotes hurt my credit score?
No, getting multiple quotes will not hurt your credit. Home insurance companies use soft inquiries, which do not impact your credit score like hard inquiries.
Why do insurers check credit for a home insurance quote?
Insurers use a credit-based insurance score to help predict the likelihood of future claims. This score is one of several factors used to determine your premium.
Can I get home insurance with a poor credit score?
Yes, you can still obtain home insurance with a poor credit score, though you may face higher premiums. Comparing quotes from various providers is essential.
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