MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
We've all seen the commercials offering us the opportunity to get a free check of our credit score. Some are actually free, while some require a subscription to a credit monitoring service. No matter how you do it, monitoring and protecting your credit is important and can have implications in all aspects of your financial life. Your credit determines your ability to borrow money, the interest rate you pay on that money, and even the price you pay for insurance. Better credit equals better premiums, and like it or not, I think that is here to stay.
In the world of insurance, however, your driving record has the most impact on your auto insurance premiums. Moving violations, accidents (both at fault and not at fault), and most types of claims can cause huge fluctuations in pricing. With that said, most insurance companies rely on you to give an accurate driving history when applying for insurance. In the majority of cases, the quote your receive is based on the information you give to the representative. Your driving record is not verified by the company until you agree to purchase the insurance. If you give inaccurate information, the pricing will change once the verification takes place.
To keep this from happening, Indiana offers you the ability to view your personal driving record for free. If you already have an account that you use to renew your vehicle registration, you are good to go. If not, simply create your free account at www.in.gov/bmv and you will have the ability to view vehicle registration information and your personal driving record.
If you are unsure of what will show up on your record, it is a good idea to have this handy when shopping for insurance. Having an accurate representation of your driving record will help to get the pricing correct up front, avoiding a surprise when the policy is issued.