My insurance went up because of my credit

[Leahcookiemaster]

Hope this finds you well. Have a thing I hope you can help me with. My car insurance, which is with California Casualty, is set to go up $19 a month with my renewal. When I called to inquire as to why--knowing I have a perfect driving record--I was told it was based on a type of credit score determined by Choice Point. So I called Choice Point, and they verified that, yes, it was based on some combination of criteria having to do with my credit report.

They sent me a copy, and the only thing I can tell is that there are a few more credit cards on it, but NO defaults, NO late payments, nothing untoward. I use 0% teaser rates for balance transfers to gain (nearly) free credit, and just before the rate goes up, I either pay off the full amount or transfer the balance to another new card.

Responsible borrowing, I call it. But try as I did to get to somebody who could comprehend what I was saying and correct, or at least reduce, the $228 penalty, I got nowhere. Is there anything I can do about this?? I haven't started shopping other car insurance cos, b/c I was told they all use the same Choice Point score, so chances are I wouldn't find a lower rate.

Oh, and another thing, I did find a few discrepancies on the report, which I went over with an agent at the insurance company, who said he would take care of them for me. But if I leave for another company, should I assume he won't bother handling that stuff?

[Credit Expert]

I understand your situation and this is a very common question. You must understand that your credit report is all about "risk" and there are literally thousands of variables (risk factors) that affect your credit scores; many that you have no control over and many you do but you are just unaware of them. Every time your reports are pulled, your credit score(s) are recalculated using a sophisticated scoring model and it will almost always fluctuate. Based on your description of your spending/paying habits I can immediately pinpoint your problem. You are opening and closing accounts to save money on balance transfers. Inquiries are risk factors: Each time you apply for credit it will deduct a few points for the inquiry from each of the 3 scores. New credit is a risk factor: A new account can affect your credit scores by as much as 10% of your total credit scores. Closing aged accounts reduces your scores. Any "discrepancies" can also affect your scores. Balances on new accounts are risk factors. These are all reasons why your scores have lowered. If you leave to another insurance company, your credit reports will be pulled and your scores will be reduced. My best advice would be for you to pay down your balances and keep the cards at a zero balance. Keep 3-5 of your best/oldest revolving accounts active and close the rest. You can also challenge any inquiries or discrepancies appearing on any of your 3 reports.
Here is an article from my website that may interest you: http://www.expert-credit-advice.com/credit_score.htm