The Arkansas insurance regulator said her department will join with 12 other states to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a lower court's ruling on the use of credit scores by insurers.
Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman said her state was joining other departments in their "friend of the court" brief. The brief asks the Supreme Court to uphold a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that GEICO and Safeco willfully violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by not properly notifying consumers when their credit score negatively affected their auto insurance rates. (See NU, Jan. 1, page 11.)
Ms. Bowman said all consumers should know if their auto insurance rates are increased because of something in their credit score.
Consumers with above-average credit ratings should be given the same opportunity to review and correct any inaccuracies in their credit rating, and thus potentially become eligible for even more savings from their insurers, according to the brief.
Without that opportunity, the states conclude, those consumers are being adversely affected, the brief contends.
The 9th Circuit Court issued its ruling in the case in January 2006. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the case in September. Oral arguments are scheduled to be heard on Jan. 16.
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