In this article:
Experian Boost®ø can help you add eligible on-time payments to your Experian credit report, which could help increase your credit scores. Experian launched Experian Boost in 2019 and has added to the list of eligible payment types since then. Today, consumers can use Experian Boost to add several types of insurance payments to their credit report, including monthly auto insurance payments.
What Is Experian Boost?
Experian Boost is a free feature that Experian members can use to add eligible on-time payments to their Experian credit report—late (non-credit) payments won't hurt scores. The new bills eligible for Experian Boost could help increase credit scores, including the most recently released versions of FICO and VantageScore® credit scores.
You can use Experian Boost by signing up or accessing the feature in your Experian account and connecting eligible bank or credit union accounts that you use to pay bills. Experian Boost can then search through the account history to look for eligible bill payments. Once you verify these payments, they can be added to your credit report and could improve your credit scores based on your Experian credit report.
Does Experian Boost Count Auto Insurance?
Insurance payments weren't eligible for Experian Boost when it first launched, but you can now add qualifying insurance payments for:
- Auto insurance
- Life insurance
- Homeowners insurance
- Renters insurance
- Pet insurance
To qualify, you must make your insurance payments monthly—rather than semi-annually or annually. But health insurance payments aren't eligible, even if you make monthly payments.
What Other Bills Can You Add to Experian Boost?
You can pick and choose which bill payments you want to add to your credit report when you enroll in Experian Boost, and you can add or remove bills at any time.
In addition to insurance bills, eligible bills could include:
- Mobile and landline phone bills
- Cable, internet and satellite services
- Gas, electricity, waste management and water bills
- Residential rent that's paid online
- Video streaming services
If you decide to remove a bill later, Experian will remove the entire bill payment history from your credit report. The payment history also might be removed if there aren't any reported payments for three consecutive months. This could happen if Experian Boost isn't able to maintain a connection to your account.
How to Sign Up for Experian Boost
You can sign up for Experian Boost and start adding your eligible auto insurance and bill payments by:
- Creating a free account: You can sign up for Experian Boost by creating a free Experian account. Or, if you already have an Experian account, you can get Experian Boost by logging in to your account and going to the Experian Boost page under the "Credit" tab at the top of the page or under "Tools" at the bottom of the page.
- Linking your bank account: Connect bank and credit union accounts that you use to pay eligible bills. Experian uses multiple methods to help keep your account and information safe.
- Choosing which bills to link: Experian Boost searches through up to two years' worth of account history to look for eligible bill payments. You can select which bills you want to add to Experian Boost. To qualify, you have to have made at least three payments in the last six months, and one of those was within the last three months.
Explore Your Experian Account's Other Features
Experian members receive many free features. In addition to Experian Boost, you can monitor your credit report and FICO® Score☉ for free. You can also use money management tools to track your finances, review credit card and personal loan offers based on your unique credit profile, and compare auto insurance quotes to see if you could save money by switching.
If you're thinking about opening a new checking account, the Experian Smart Money™ Digital Checking Account & Debit Card can help you build credit without debt by automatically linking to Experian Boost, which gives you credit for eligible bill payments after three months of payments. You'll also pay no monthly fees¶ for Experian Smart Money, have access to more than 55,000 fee-free ATMs worldwide** and could receive your paychecks up to two days early when you enroll in direct deposit†. You can get an Experian Smart Money Account through a free or paid Experian membership, which also gives you access to your FICO® Score, Experian credit report and more. See terms at experian.com/legal.