Credit Karma, a fintech company that has provided credit-card comparison services for a decade, is jumping into insurance.
The move to insurance is to assist with mispricing issues in auto insurance policies, the company says. Last year, Credit Karma offered members access to information, provided by the DMV and other source, to help track estimates value of their cars and check for recall details in one centralized location. With more than 8 million members syncing their vehicle for savings, Credit Karma will now combine the DMV information with data from credit bureaus and public insurance rate filings to estimate insurance quotes.
“We built the auto experience to help put money back into the pockets of our members. With our refinance experience, we’ve helped our members save nearly $150 million on their auto loans in under a year,” said Kenneth Lin, founder and CEO, Credit Karma.
Members will be educated through interactive experiences on the new updated auto insurance features, displaying how moving violations and credit scores impact insurance rates. Currently available in California and Texas, two of the biggest driving states, the expansion will be available possibly by next year to additional states. According to Rory Joyce, Director of Product Management, the update is complex, and “we want to make sure it is strong as possible before releasing to all states first.”
Joyce also says partnerships were important in moving forward with the launch. The service has launched with 15 insurer partners. To find members the best offer available, collaborations allow Credit Karma to share and compare rates.
With about 30% of members actively using the auto estimating feature launched last year, expanding is beneficial. “Our investment into auto has exceeded our expectations, and it’s encouraging to see such high engagement among our members,” said Joyce. “Because auto insurance is a major expense of owning a car, building an insurance feature was a natural extension to help our members make financial progress.”
