Your credit score is looked at more often than you may think, according to people in the insurance industry.

It is becoming the practice for many insurance companies to check your "credit worthiness" before they set your rates.

People in the insurance industry say that there is a link between lower credit scores and insurance claims.

They say that a person with a low credit score is more likely to file an insurance claim, so your score can affect your premiums.

"I'm prompt paying my bills so it's more of a smack in the face than most," said Frank Pipar of Glen Mills, Pa.

Pipari had a policy with Allstate for years. He says he was ranked a "one." His credit and his driving history were outstanding.

But when he needed to add his daughter to the policy he found a better rate elsewhere.

Time passed and his daughter got a policy of her own. Frank wanted to go back to Allstate, but now his rating was no longer a "one" but a "two" -- a lower rating, which meant higher premiums for him. It worked out to $200 more per year.

"The reason my rating went from a one to a two is that I co-signed a loan for my daughter to buy a car in March and during that process, of course they checked my credit status," Pipari said.

Pipari, who makes a very good living, had co-signed for an $8,000 loan and had his credit checked when he was thinking about leasing a car -- which he didn't do. That affected his credit score.

"The fact that I took an installment loan, whether it be paid off or not, and the fact that I had a credit inquiry, meaning that I applied for credit were two reasons that put me from class one to class two," Pipari said.

Allstate told NBC 10 that the use of credit information benefits consumers.

"Use of credit information enables us to offer lower rates to many customers who, otherwise, would pay more for their insurance. And none of the insurance scoring models we use today consider ethnic group, religion, gender, marital status, nationality, age, income or address," said an Allstate representative.

Lawmakers in Pennsylvania are calling the practice unfair.

"Although credit usually victimizes the people who can least afford it, you don't have to be poor to fall prey to this practice, " Pennsylvania state Sen. Anthony Williams.

The insurance industry says that credit scores are used with several other factors when setting rates, and if the laws are changed, people with good credit would probably see their rates increase.

Here are how the laws currently stand in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey:

Pennsylvania:

Credit scores can never be used by insurance companies as the sole criteria for setting rates in the Keystone State. The credit score can, however, be used along with other factors -- like your driving record, to help determine rates. Insurance companies cannot pull your score a second time to rerate you as a customer.

Delaware:

In Delaware, insurance companies can use credit scoring when setting insurance rates. The Delaware Insurance Department told NBC 10 that it is working on regulations that would ensure the scores aren't used in abusive or discriminatory way.

New Jersey:

New Jersey insurance companies are not allowed to use credit scores in any way when setting insurance rates.

Here are the numbers to call if you think an insurance company is wrongly using credit scoring:

Pennsylvania: (877) 881-6388
New Jersey: (800) 446-7467
Delaware: (800) 282-8611