By Alicia Moreno · Research Writer
Published
Answer in brief
Michigan banned the use of credit scores in 2020; Washington's regulator tried and was overturned in 2022; medical collections largely left scoring models in 2022–2023; and a steady stream of state bills has narrowed how credit can be used. The direction is toward less weight, not more.
2020: Michigan
Michigan's auto insurance reform prohibited insurers from using a driver's credit score to set or maintain auto rates, alongside bans on sex, marital status, home ownership, education, occupation and ZIP code. The wording targets the credit score itself; credit-based insurance scores are not named, and the regulator reviews insurance-score filings for compliance. Treat Michigan as a near-ban rather than a complete one.
2021–2022: Washington
Washington's insurance regulator issued an emergency rule and then a permanent rule banning credit in rating. Courts struck the rules down in 2022 as exceeding the regulator's authority; the state's exception requirements remain.
2022–2023: medical debt
The major credit bureaus removed paid medical collections and most small medical collections from reports, and the main scoring models reduced the weight of medical debt. Insurance scores built on those reports changed accordingly.
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Ongoing
Bills to ban or restrict credit rating appear in multiple states each session. Few pass outright, but exception rules and disclosure requirements have widened. The current map is in states that ban credit.
Guides referenced in this post
Guide
States That Ban Credit in Auto Insurance
The states where insurers cannot use credit to rate auto insurance—California, Hawaii, Massachusetts—plus Michigan's credit-score ban and the states that restrict it.
Guide
How Credit Affects Auto Insurance Rates
What a credit-based insurance score is, how it differs from a credit score, how much it moves premiums, and why insurers are allowed to use it.