Does Auto Insurance Need Your Social Security Number?

1. 

   12689 POINTS

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   Ted Ratliff

   Owner, SFS Associates,

   Yes in most cases. When you take out Auto insurance the company checks driving record and what is called a CLUE report. They may also run an insurance credit score. Your Social Security number, Drivers License number, and date of birth of your and any drivers in your household is necessary to provide you with the best rate possible.

   Answered on April 19, 2013

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2. 

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   Terry A. McCarthy, CLU, ChFC

   President, Insurance Associates Agency Inc., West Chester, OH

   The social security number is a necessary method of identifying you and your record. Most insurers use this number to zero in on your identity. Unfortunately, your social security number is used to identify you and your record to insurance carriers, and just about every other kind of business that is granting credit or coverage. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to protect this one vital bit of information and have another identifying number we could use? But I digress... But, as identifiers go, the social security number is probably the best current way for your creditors and insurance companies to make sure you are really you. Insurance is making a bigger and bigger use of credit base underwriting and pricing every year and most carriers use credit to one extent or another in insurance eligibility and pricing. Companies are also using vast data base records of claims and driving history that are often cataloged by your address, your name, your spouse, former addresses, and even the prior owners and subsequent owners of cars you have once owned and insured. With all the potential for confusion, your social security number is one unique bit of information that isn't easily duplicated in these claims and records databases. So, in that one way, your social security number helps keep you from being lumped together with others who may have a similar name, owned your car, or lived in the same house or apartment. Your social security number has been tied to credit reports and your borrowing for decades so insurance companies use this number to be as certain as possible they are looking at your record and not someone with a similar name. While the social security number has now been exploited for way to many reasons of identification, it is good that you still have one way to separate yourself from others with similarities that can cause confusion in underwriting and pricing your insurance and that is a good thing. Hope this helps.

   Answered on July 23, 2015

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