Do you have to pay more for insurance if you don’t make a lot of money?

Not really. When insurance companies look at your credit history, they’re not worried about how much money you make or who you owe money. They look at how responsible you are with the money you make, if you pay back loans on time, and if you avoid getting into too much debt.

If you have a good credit history but your spouse doesn’t, do you have to pay more?

Generally, yes. If you and your spouse have joint credit cards or bank accounts or you co-signed a loan, then your spouse’s credit history affects yours. If your spouse has a bad credit history, you may have to pay more for insurance.

In some states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin), your spouse’s credit history affects you – even if you don’t have any shared accounts. In these states, all debt taken on during your marriage is considered joint debt.

How does getting a divorce affect your credit?

Your ex-spouse’s financial behavior can still affect your credit and your insurance rate. Make sure you close all joint accounts when you’re divorced. You should also let your spouse’s creditors know in writing that you’re not responsible for their debts. Get more information.

Will credit problems count against you if they happened because of a medical problem?

Credit bureaus are now required to clearly show debts from medical expenses. In the past, they would show the name of the billing organization. Now, they can only list "Medical" as the reason for the credit problem.

This gives you more privacy. This also makes it easier for you to explain the problem. Some insurance companies will ignore medical credit problems. In some states, insurance companies are required to ignore medical credit problems.

Does co-signing a loan affect how companies look at your credit?

Yes. If you co-sign a loan, your credit record is in their hands. If they make late payments or miss payments on the loan, that will show up on your credit record.

Where can you get more information about credit and insurance?

You can learn more about credit and insurance on these Web sites.

Insure.com