Eric Poe is chief operating officer for CURE Auto Insurance.
He talked about the double-whammy of coronavirus-related job losses: Car insurance rates can rise with unemployment.
Unemployed individuals may be facing an issue that has been widely ignored by the lawmakers — even before the pandemic, many insurance companies charge unemployed and lower-income Americans more for their car insurance. … Along with the spike in unemployment, the fact that insurance companies charge the unemployed and those with lower credit scores more will hopefully spur our legislators to finally take action. Inevitably, the 3 million newly unemployed will quickly see that, as their credit card debt goes up, their credit score will immediately drop. Why? Because the second-largest influence of credit scores is the amount of available credit. For drivers who have gone from gainfully employed to unemployed, it is only a matter of time before their car insurance rates increase dramatically. But, with your urging, the federal government could put an end to this practice.”
