 TITLE: How Do I Get Homeowners Insurance With Bad Credit? CONTENT: How to Improve Your Credit to Qualify for Better Home Insurance Rates\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\nWhile your credit scores and your credit-based insurance scores are calculated differently, they both are based on the information found in your credit report.\nAs such, improving your regular credit score can result in increasing your insurance score. Here are some ways you can work on improving your credit score and credit-based insurance score at the same time:\n*   **Focus on payment history.** Your responsibility with managing your payments is crucial for each score type, so it's important to make it a priority. Set a goal to make all your debt payments on time. It might be helpful to set up automatic payments on your accounts. If you have any past-due accounts, work to get caught up as quickly as possible.\n*   **Reduce your credit card debt.** Having a balance on your credit card that's high relative to its credit limit can hurt your scores. The lower your credit utilization ratio—your balance divided by your limit—the better it is for your credit score.\n*   **Gain authorized user status.** If you have a loved one who has a credit card with a positive history, consider asking if you can be added to the account as an authorized user. Once you're on the account, its entire history will be added to your credit reports, which can help improve your scores.\n*   **Keep old accounts.** If you have old credit cards you no longer use, it's often wise to keep them open instead of closing them. Their positive history can continue to help maintain good credit because it will contribute to the length of your credit history and help you keep your overall credit utilization lower.\n*   **Avoid new credit unless necessary.** Virtually every time you apply for credit, the lender will run a hard inquiry on your credit reports, which can knock a few points off your credit score. And whenever you open a new credit account, it reduces your length of credit history, which impacts your length of history. Unless you absolutely need to take on new debt, it's usually best to avoid applying for both loans and credit cards.\n*   **Dispute inaccurate credit information.** Check your credit reports to make sure all the information found in them is accurate and up to date. If you find what you believe to be incorrect or fraudulent information, you can dispute it with the credit bureaus, who will revise or remove it if they can verify your claim.\nAs you take these and other steps to improve your credit score, you'll have a better chance of qualifying for better insurance rates, as well as more favorable rates when you apply for credit. Continue to check your credit score regularly to track your progress, and watch out for anything new that might damage your scores.\nOnce you've had a chance to increase your credit score, ask your insurance company upon renewal to reevaluate your situation to see if you can get a lower rate. If you don't want to wait, you can also request quotes from other insurers and compare them to what you're paying now, to see if you can save. END