Property Casualty Insurance: Credit & Claims Reports
If you’ve ever applied for a charge account, a personal loan, insurance, or a job, there’s a file about you. This file contains information on where you work and live, how you pay your bills, and whether you’ve been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Likewise, if you’ve ever filed an insurance claim, there is a file about you.
Companies that gather and sell this information are called Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs). The most common type of CRA is the credit bureau. A second type is an insurance claims database. The information CRAs sell about you to creditors, employers, insurers, and other businesses is called a consumer report.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, is designed to promote accuracy and ensure the privacy of the information used in consumer reports. Recent amendments to the Act expand your rights and place additional requirements on CRAs. Businesses that supply information about you to CRAs and those that use consumer reports also have new responsibilities under the law.
Learn more about the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) >
