 TITLE: Should I Add a Consumer Statement to My Credit Report Due to COVID-19? CONTENT: What Is a Disaster Code?\n------------------------\nYou may have recently read or heard about a \"disaster\" code that can be added to your credit reports. This is partially true. There is a code that indicates you've been affected by a disaster. However, that code is added by your lender to _specific accounts_ that appear on your credit reports, rather than a general statement meant to encompass all the accounts in your report.\nThis code, which has been a part of credit reporting for many years, reads, \"affected by natural or declared disaster\" when added to an account on your credit reports. When this code is present, any lender that accesses your credit reports will see that you've been impacted by a disaster as it pertains to the management of that particular account. With respect to credit scoring, however, a disaster code does not affect all credit scores.\nFICO's credit scoring models do not treat the accounts with a disaster code any differently, nor does the code prevent FICO from considering other positive or negative aspects of any account.\nWith respect to VantageScore® credit scores, the newer versions of VantageScore (3.0 and 4.0) will ignore any negative aspects of an account while the disaster code is present. Once the disaster code is removed, any negative aspects of the account will again be considered in your score. END