Is there a price difference with DCU Insurance?
There are discount programs available exclusively to DCU members. DCU Insurance staff works to find the most cost-effective coverage available that meets the member's needs, and we employ all applicable discounts in your favor.
When we talk to you about your policy, we will let you know whether we can provide the coverage you need at a better price than you are currently paying. However with insurance as with many other things you purchase, price is not the end of the story. We will take the time to help you assess what coverage you should have to protect your financial well-being.
There is considerable variation in the prices depending on individual risk characteristics and the insurers' guidelines.
What factors affect pricing of insurance policies?
Insurers use many factors to determine which policies they prefer to write and at what price. Except where regulators set the criteria, the factors vary based on each insurer's appetite for a particular type of customer and their research and analysis of the profitability of insurance policies written for those customers.
Through the DCU web site, StreetWise provides good information about the many factors that can influence how different types of policies would be priced.
What does credit history have to do with insurance?
Most insurers now use insurance scoring as one factor in underwriting or pricing their policies, to the extent allowed by the state insurance departments. Insurance scoring is based on credit history but is different from credit scoring. Insurers have determined that certain elements of a customer's credit history are strong predictors of whether the customer will have a loss.
If the insurer takes any adverse action, such as declining to write the policy or not providing their most attractive pricing, as a result of information contained in a consumer report, they will provide you with information about the source of the information.
