IneedzFunds

Erie Insurance rates are decent (Rates depend on rate determination). Eric Insurance overall is pretty good HO insurance. Just make sure you go over the HO policy and make sure you get coverage you need (make sure you get replacement coverage under Erie as after a few claims, Erie will try to drop it off, but you have a augue point to keep it on. If you never had it and you make a few claims with them, they will state you are not eligible (depends on state - but beware).

CARRIER2468, I have a background in Insurance (licensed and worked in the industry for over 20 years - family has been in the industry for over 40 years). As for what insurance companies look for, there are so many factors, it is not even funny. If you can get USAA, do it. Even if they have a higher rate (they are usually one of the lowest - but depending on rate determination), they are still the best of the best in terms of overall insurance coverage. They have gotten harder on policyholders over the the years due to USAA extending membership to indiviuduals that are not directly military affiliated (probably the reason why THANKFULHEART's rates went high). If the rates are too high or you are not eligible (have to have some military affiliation via family, organization, etc.), drop them aand/or with someone else. As for SafeCo/Liberty Mutual, beware of them as after your first claim (and if it is a big or high risk one) they will be difficult on paying out on future high risk/large claims. You will have to have your insurance agent (if you aere working with an independent insurance agency - if not - you can be SOoL) write/talk to your underwriters to help pay on those claims. Same with AllState and State Farm. Shop around (like Link2K said). While you are shopping, give various scenarios. Not to get too personal, credit is a factor in the overall rate determination, but not the only one (though it is now used as a larger factor today than in previous years). Look on these boards and read how to clean up your credit. In the meantime, shop around. If possible, do not give out your SSN number, driver's license number or any unique identifier during the initial quote if not required (in otherwords - ask if they need that info to give you an initial quote - most insurance companies do not). This info can and will be used as an identifier for future quotes with the organization. When you narrow down who you are going to use for your insurance, then give out your unique identifiers. Also, try to bundle insurance if it is feasible. Using your father's address as your home address for housing your cars is not illegal. The problem lies when claims are filed, then you have to address underwriting concerns if raised. I hope this helps.

Who is this with?

As for what are the new banking laws and guidelines, I am not just talking about the ones from the US, but international as well which US banks must following. Examples are Credit CARD Act of 2009, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, Truth in Savings Act, Electronic Fund Transfer Act, Community Reinvestment Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Truth in Lending Act, Bank Secrecy Act, Bank Holding Company Act, Federal Credit Union Act, Glass–Steagall Act, Federal Reserve Act, Basel III, Volcker Rule, and the list goes on, and on, and on (x a billion). There are several changes that have occurs (and still are occurring) and some laws, if actually enforced (key words in this - actually enforced), are good. At the end of the day, you are not going to get leeway on doing something like back dating any financial reports in this day in time, especially if there is a remote chance of hurting the banks.

If I open a new AMEX personal card tomorrow, when it reports to my PERSONAL Experian file, it will report as having been opened in 02/2001 not 02/2012, because AMEX backdates, and I got my first personal AMEX in 2001. The new card from the new account will also automatically say on it "Member Since: 01" Now, if instead of opening an AMEX personal card tomorrow, I open an AMEX biz card, which will report to my BUSINESS Experian file instead (and perhaps DnB), will it say the account was opened in 02/2012, or 02/2001??? I've been in business since 1999 (incorporated in 1999), and stupidly never put anything in my business name. I will apply for a business AMEX only if I expect it to report to my company's Experian Business file as that the card was opened in 2001. If it's going to say 2012, I don't want it. I need a major secured business loan for $200k to buy $300k of used equipment (lender I'm looking at is an Experian puller), I have a great personal credit, a company incorporated in 1999. However, the business has absolutely nothing in its Experian file (Tradelines: 0). The creditor will be pulling this file. Having a huge AMEX biz credit line reporting to Experian Business as "just opened" is going to hurt me more than it will help me however in the short-term, since I'll be credit shopping in a month, right after this account first would show up on my Experian Business report. The same question has been asked by several users in several forums over the years, with no one ever answering it. ANYONE with an AMEX biz card who has checked their biz credit file since they got the card should be able to answer this (unless of course that biz card was the first card from AMEX with their name on it ever). I can answer this question concerning what your AMEX BIZ CC will report. If you apply for a AMEX business card today, it will report to the business credit agency (Experian or Equifax - depending on which type of AMEX Business credit card, whether you are going through an affiliate financial institution, etc.), but it will report on the business credit report from 2012 (or whenever you are approved on the application). You can ask, but I am quite sure AMEX will not backdate due to SEVERAL new banking & credit rules and guidelines. Now your card may say, been a member since 1999, but AMEX is not going to back date and report from 2001. I am quite sure of it. As for it AMEX credit line hurting your business credit, that is of opinion, but in my opinion, it will NEVER hurt to have a good standing AMEX business credit line on a business report. AMEX does do a pretty good job on background check and other cards/credit lines will follow their lead. Again, my opinion only.

You want to ask to make sure, but this will show as a business account as oppose to a personal credit account. My organization has an Advance Auto account (who is really HSBC), but we did not PG it. My organization does have a pretty good credit profile and payment history. Thus, we normally do not PG on any account. If you have a new business and you REALLY want the account, then PG it. Otherwise, I would apply with no PG and see if they turn you down. After you send in the application, call for status or verification of the application. Also, speak with someone in underwriting and see if they can approve it ASAP. If your organization gets turned down because you did not, PG it, then if you REALLY want the account, PG it. In other words, do not place PG info at first within the application. Let them (HSBC) tell you that you need to be PGed as oppose to the other way around.

The one thing you may need to do have a least one or two lines of credit (LOC) (or credit cards. loans, etc.) with the amount of over $10,000 show on your business profile. You will have to PG this. Reason behind this is so it can show on your Equifax and possibly your Experian business profile as reference for high credit lines (or at least the beginning of it). Key thing behind this is Equifax business profile is used as the primary by 80% (or more) of all the financial institutions (i.e. - GEMB, HSBC, US Bank, BofA, Capital One, etc.). If you want to have business CCs with no PG, your business profile in Equifax needs to be strong. D&B is not looked at by the banks as much as it used to be as the primary bus credit report. D&B today is more primary for trade lines and usually is a secondary CR reviewed by financial institutions. If I was you, I would go after an AMEX business CC (that reports only to business) and a LOC of over $10K (if possible - more than that - whatever your max can be for the bus credit). Go to a bank or credit union and see what your business qualifies. You will have to have these accounts running utilizing them and paying them off on time for at least six months to ensure strong credit history. Again, you will have to PG these account, but afterwards, try not to PG anything else. Before the 2009 meltdown, it was a little easier to get business credit with no PG (really before 2006). During 2006-2009, it started to get tighter, but not super-tight like it is now (after 2009). If your organization does not have an established credit history or does not have financial capital to create (or manipulate) financial institutions into lending you large LOCs without PG, it will take time during the current market to have significant business LOC without PGing. This is NOT an instant process, but it could take maybe one year and a few months (as oppose to YEARSSSSSSSSSSSSS) if you do it right. Hope this helps.

You have to straighten out the address mess BEFORE you start applying for credit or you will have problems. I knew of a company that applied for credit with a different address that was listed within their D&B profile. They got turned down everytime (this was before the credit laws of May 2010 took in full effect - in otherwords - it was easier (in my opinion) to make mistakes like this around that timeframe and still get credit). They also applied with a different phone number which was a mistake as well. Make sure your D&B profile mimics what you have on all your organization legal entity forms (EIN, LLC/corp formation, etc.) including phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, etc. If not, you will have problems. Before you do anything, either (1) fix the address within D&B to what you want to apply credit or (2) use the old address and once your credit has been initially established, then give the vendors the new address and have them update this info to the business credit agencies (BCAs). You can make updates to the BCAs yourself (i.e. - Experian, Equifax, etc.), but the D&B profile update is the main one that has to be updated if you are initially establishing your organization's credit. There are some exceptions to this rule, but the above statement is, for the most part, the norm. Hope this helps.

You are right. On that EQ report, it had the PG and the tax id as the SSN. He PG corp1 cards and had opened a card for Corp 2...never activated and canceled... so corp 2 reported all accounts when they are two different industries with different boards and employees. Both companies are still operating and were at two separate locations with two different tax ids. Funny no where was I the owner listed. Which companies did this? Citibank and Capital One. I do not know the point of showing all of that in my case. Corp 1 was losing money because it was B2C (entertainment/media) but Corp 2 B2B (professional services) was booming. New Girl, if they are reporting your SSN as your corporate tax id instead of your EIN, you need to have the credit bureaus to immediately fix this situation as it will affect you in the future. Many companies use systems to do check credit on business credit and at the same time, will do a soft check on your personal. If your SSN is reporting as the primary tax ID, many companies can (and will) do a hard credit check on your personal which can affect your personal credit (e.g. - number of credit hits, cross reference business acct, etc.). What you want to do is make sure your EIN is listed as the primary tax id. If they have your SSN listed on the business credit report, make sure that they do not have that listed as a tax id (if they have your SSN - the credit bureaus will not take it off, but they should have it listed as an alternate id). Make sure that they mask the SSN to at least the last four of your SSN (as business credit reports are unsecured and can be used as public information). Need help - PM me.

I believe it is in old post when his info was new the the Biz Board. THere are several similiar instructions, so repeat does not hurt one bit. I read alot today on Biz credit forum in which advice was from '02. Yes - It is an old post in myfico business credit and there are similiar postings of the same information within archived postings within Creditboards. Because of the credit changes of 2009 & 2010, much of the info on this link is not up-to-date. The most up-to-date info on how to establish business credit is on this site (creditboards.com). This information is a great refresher, but please do not request a sticky for this info as it will confuse alot of new members (as well as old members who do not frequent the site on a consistent basis ;-)

Call up Amazon credit (who is really GE Money Bank I believe) and ask exactly what they need - they will work with you on getting certain things fixed. My company has several bus accts (including Amazon) through GEMB and when starting the acct, there are sometimes prbolems trying to valate or verify information. Before you do anything - call them up and speak to someone in underwriting. They should be able to square you away.

There are still a few firms (not that many though) that will rely solely on business credit. The key thing about obtaining business credit cards (assuming you are talking about Visa, MC, AMEX, Diners Club/Citibank, Discover, etc. and not store credit/private line cards) relying solely on business credit is that you must be able to prove with your business credit portfolio that your company is financially sound to handle that amount of credit. In otherwords, you are going to need to show with most major CC vendors that your company is (1) making $5,000,000 and above (this number can vary below and above - but the is now the new average initial number), (2) have multiple tradelines with very large credit lines showing in Experian & Equifax, (3) have a rating (i.e. 2R3) and paydex score of 80 and above for D&B, and show (4) impressive corporate financials (which includes nice P&L statement, cash flow statement (reporting at least 7 figures in revenue), and/or possible large cash liquid accts (at least over 6 figures)). From what you have describes above, unless you have all four criteria mentioned above (you can have 3 of the 4 for some cards - depends on the issuing bank/institution on their acceptance criteria), you are not going to be able to get business credit cards (forget the word "small business" ;-) without personal guarantee the credit line. This is now 2010 and ALL financial institutions in the USA are being very consevative and risk prudent when extending any credit to new customers (especially if you use the word "small biz" :-). Nevertheless - you will need to get your D&B report (at least an eUpdate) and see if you have a paydex score of 80 or above & rating, Equifax report and score and Experian report and score to see where you are at business financially-wise. Most financial institutions are using at least or all three business credit reporting agencies (Equifax is still the primary for most financial institution, but the will look at D&B and Experian to confirm ratings and risk findings). Your reports will need to show the above-mentioned criteria as well as the bank may request that you send your financials for review. I hope this helps - probably not the answer you are looking for - if you are still trying to see which institutions are easiest to get funding without PG - call the bank and ask what is their minimum criteria (you will need to talk with someone in underwriting, not one of the tellers/ CSR on the phone).

You may want to see your Equifax, Experian & D&B reports with scores (if possible and applicable). Your business is less than two years old, so some companies will not extend your organization a line of credit until the two year (and sometimes now 3 year) mark is up. Also, you will need to report that your revenue is higher than $1 million (or more - emphasis on the more). There are a number of companies will give tradelines over $10K. If you get some trade lines that are 4 digit dollar range, make sure you pay early on the bill and after six months many organizations will raise the limit to five digits if you call and ask. Have anymore questions - reply to me in private.

I knew about Cortera and a few business uses them (sometimes alone or with another CRA). When I was initially talking with the sales rep (like back in Sept 2009), the people were not pushy and the acct rep I spoke with was nice. I did get a call from one of the guys from Cortera like a month ago stating the acct rep I spoke with back in Sept 2009 was no longer there. From my research, I found out that Cortera "proprietary database source" really derives from the some of the same sources that Experian uses, but Cortera's is 30 - 60 days older than Experian data. Cortera also gets ALOT of data from "social networking". In otherwords, you have the ability to report information about a company free of charge (to my understanding - there is a verification process - so no one can just start trashing your company just for the sake of doing it). To pull individual reports from Cortera, it is $3 (which is really cheap), but to do unlimited, it is $49 a month, which in cost comparison of the other CRAs (expecially the large one) and considering that many of Cortera small business reporting you will not get any hits, that $49 price is way too high for them. I really have not used them, but from my research and previous experience working with them, I think they are not that bad as what TrucknAlng is stating. Please note I am going by how they treated me back in Sept 2009 and they could now be hurting for funds and do not have good staff at this time. But, again, from my limited experience working with Cortera, it is a good company, in my opinion.

Denny, There are ways to boost Experian (EX) or Equifax (EQ) before DnB. For the most part (and give and take a few things), bank/financial institutions report more to Equifax (in comparison to DnB & EX) than the other CRA. DnB still has their monopoly on what I call old trade line business (construction, electrical, wholesalers, etc.), but Experian is gaining alot of ground. From what I've learned, most businesses today (after Feb 2010) are starting to look more at Experian than DnB as they are feeling that Experian scoring is more reliable and solid. Also, alot of business today are starting to look at credit solutions that produce credit reporting information from multiple CRAs and other legal sources for commercial credit analysis. At the end of the day, when looking at adding business trade lines, you need to inquire which CRAs the business you are apply for credit is reporting. The information Greywolf posted on this subject matter is dead on (and extremely accurate) . I presently have WAY more credit lines reporting to both EX and EQ than my DnB. The only downfall to this is when you run into a business that only uses DnB (and no other reporting), they may ask for more information (verification of deposits) or even a PG (which I always say no as many of those business will change their policies eventually). My two cents.