Skip to main content

November 10, 1998

Mr. Ronald L. Sheffield
Special Assistant Commissioner, Consumer Affairs
Arkansas Insurance Department
1200 West Third Street
Little Rock, AR 72201-1904

Re: Section 615(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act

Dear Mr. Sheffield:

This will respond to your letter inquiring about the applicability of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") to an insurance company's denial of insurance to an applicant based on information contained in a consumer report. You ask two specific questions: (1) does the FCRA require an insurance company to disclose to an applicant what specific information in the credit report was relied on in denying insurance to that applicant; (2) if not, would the insurance company violate the FCRA by voluntarily disclosing such information to the applicant. The answer is "no" to both questions.

Section 615(a) of the FCRA sets forth the information that must be disclosed to a consumer by any person taking adverse action(1) with respect to that consumer based in whole or in part on any information contained in a consumer report. That section requires disclosure of only the information specified, namely:

    1. Notice (either oral, written, or electronic) of the adverse action;  
    2. The name, address, and telephone number of the consumer reporting agency ("CRA") from whom the report was obtained. If the CRA compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis, the person must disclose a toll-free number for the CRA, which the CRA is required to establish;  
    3. A statement that the CRA did not make the decision to take the adverse action and is unable to provide the specific reasons why the action was taken; and  
    4. Notice of the consumer's right to obtain a free copy of his or her consumer report from the CRA and to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information in a consumer report furnished by the CRA.

The FCRA does not require insurers to disclose specific reason(s) for taking adverse action, or to identify information from a consumer report that contributed to the action. Instead, it provides the consumer with the right to obtain a copy of all the information in his or her CRA files. From the required notice (item #4, above), consumers who suffer adverse action will know of their right to obtain that data without charge. However, should an insurer or other person wish to tell a consumer the reason(s) for the adverse action, nothing in the FCRA precludes that person from doing so.(2)

This is an informal staff opinion and is not binding on the Commission.

Sincerely,

Ronald G. Isaac

1. With respect to the underwriting of insurance, Section 603(k)(1)(B)(i) of the FCRA defines "adverse action" to mean "a denial or cancellation of, an increase in any charge for, or a reduction or other adverse or unfavorable change in the terms of coverage or amount of, any insurance, existing or applied for, in connection with the underwriting of insurance."

2. Section 607(c) forbids CRAs from prohibiting insurers or other consumer report users from providing consumers against whom they have taken adverse action with copies of their reports.

Return to top