Most of us knew nothing about our credit scores two years ago. But today this one, little number can decide our financial future. Credit scores came about because big companies that were merging and growing and they wanted a quick and easy way to get a picture of our financial history. The three-digit number is supposed to lenders and credit card companies an instant picture into our financial lives. But there are several different places to get a score, and they can vary by company. A score in the 700s is great, but scores can go up as high as 800. Lots of things can affect your score, including how promptly you make your payments. That is all fine and good. Problems arise when auto and homeowners insurers either refuse to cover you or charge you enormously high rates based on your credit score. Clark wants to know what your credit score has to do with how well you drive a car. Absolutely nothing. Several states believe that too and have outlawed the use of credit scores by insurers. California, for instance, recently passed a law prohibiting insurers from using credit scores to determine eligibility. AllState apparently wasn’t listening and was recently fined $3 million for continuing to do so. A number of other states - Texas, Maryland, Utah, Hawaii and Washington – have also either banned or restricted the use of credit scores by insurers. But people in the insurance business continue to do this in all other states. It’s a movement that will take years. So, make sure you are making all of your payments on time. Then, you have nothing to worry about.