WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Representative Melvin L. Watt (D-NC), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, today announced a second hearing to consider the impact of using credit-based insurance scores on consumers. The hearing will also examine recent legislation that has been introduced aimed at addressing this issue and the broader topic of insurance companies using socio-economic factors to rate consumers.

Congressman Watt said, "The October Subcommittee hearing on the use of credit-based insurance scoring reinforced my concerns about this practice. I have scheduled a second hearing to obtain more information for the members of the full Financial Services Committee to use in evaluating the impact of credit-based insurance scoring and possible alternatives that would result in fairer and less discriminatory results."

"I fully support further investigation into this alarming trend of using credit information to determine rates of personal lines of insurance," said Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL). "For families who are only beginning to establish credit -- including minority and immigrant communities -- this practice puts them in a difficult and unfair financial position."

Who:                The Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

What:               Hearing: "The Impact of Credit-Based Insurance   Scoring on the Availability and Affordability of Insurance"

When:              Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.

Where:             2128 Rayburn House Office Building