HAVING CREDIT IS NECESSARY

In a Conning and Co. study completed in July 2001, about 92 percent of insurers reported using scoring, including credit data, in deciding auto insurance policy premiums.

Since 1998, the use of such scoring has expanded greatly, according to Conning and Co., with insurers saying that they responded to scoring initiatives taken by the competition.

More than half of the insurers surveyed say they use the scores to place you in a rate class (like preferred, standard, or high-risk) and to set a price for you within that class. Nearly all say they use it for new business only, according to the study.

Supporters of scoring say there is a direct correlation between your score and the likelihood that you'll make a claim, but critics maintain that it permits insurers to charge higher premiums to lower income households.