Why do I need to provide my social security number if I want an insurance quote?

Question

Why do I need to provide my social security number if I want an insurance quote?

Answer 1

The company needs your social to verify your identity.

They then use that to check your past driving record and credit history which can drastically affect your insurance premium.

Answer 2

Insurance company's check your credit and base your premium on that.  If you have good credit, you may get a better rate. If you have bad credit, you will be paying more.

Answer 3

I know!  It's so annoying that EVERYONE and their mother are always trying to get our socials when all I ever hear about it "Identity Theft"!  I wish there were ways around it.  But most likely the insurance company won't quote you if you don't give it to them.

Answer 4

If you don't want to give your social, don't. If they refuse to give you a quote without your social, call someone else. They should be running a soft-hit credit report to check your credit history, and for that, a social is not required.

One person said they are using it to check your credit and driving history. Your social has nothing to do with your driving history. It is only used for credit. If they were going to check your driving history, they would ask for your drivers license number. Most likely, they will just ask if you've had tickets or accidents and actually pull an MVR when you decide to purchase the policy.

Answer 5

because a lot of these insurance companies are now trying to get you the best rates based on your credit.

Answer 6

I get this question all the time and the reason is that your social is the only thing we can use to determine things like driving history, claims history and credit worthiness.  Most companies offer great discounts...no policy is a "one size fits all".  If you want the best rate, you have to provide your Social.  Insurance scoring is not a true credit check so, don't worry about it having an impact on your score and as far as identity theft, we take protecting your information very seriously.  If you're truly uncomfortable, then don't give it, but don't get upset when you're rate is really high or if the agent can't quote at all.  Plus, you should feel a little more secure in knowing that you called the agent for the rate.  Hope that helps!