The Surprising Reason Your Car Insurance Is Double in Some States

Car insurance rates are one of a few non-debt-related things impacted by your credit standing, and depending on where you live, good credit can mean huge savings when it comes to insurance. On average, there’s a 65% difference in car insurance premiums between consumers whose only difference is their credit standing, according to a recent report from WalletHub.

To determine the states where credit matters most, WalletHub obtained insurance quotes from five of the nation’s largest auto insurance companies, choosing a ZIP code with a median income closest to the state median and using two nearly identical driver profiles. The only difference was that one had an excellent credit score and the other had no credit score. If you’re wondering what makes a good credit score, here are the factors that determine them.

In some states, that factor made a huge difference. On the other hand, credit standing made no difference for drivers in California, Hawaii and Massachusetts. Of states where credit made a difference in insurance premiums, Vermont had the lowest disparity between drivers with excellent credit and no credit: 18%. However, if you have poor credit and live in one of the following states, you now have extra motivation for improving your credit score. Here are the 10 places where credit scores have the highest impact on auto insurance premiums:

10. Kentucky — Drivers with no credit pay 84% more on average than drivers with excellent credit
9. Louisiana — 89%
8. Delaware — 92%
7. Ohio — 94%
6. South Carolina — 99%
5. Michigan — 100%
4. Maine — 109%
3. Indiana — 110%
2. Wyoming — 114%
1. District of Columbia — 124%

Credit isn’t the only factor that goes into determining car insurance rates, so someone with great credit could quite possibly have higher insurance rates than someone with none. Still, the trends shown by the WalletHub study underscore the importance of credit in your day-to-day life, even for people who don’t use credit much or at all.

If you’re interested in knowing where you stand and learning how to improve your credit score, you should regularly check your credit reports and credit scores. You can get two free credit scores through Credit.com, with updates every 14 days and expert tips tailored to your credit standing.