Importance of Your Client’s Credit Scores

Client credit scores quietly shape far more of their financial life than most realize. As a financial advisor, you see the clear link between mortgages, lending limits, and loan pricing, but clients often treat their score as a vague number that matters only when they apply for credit. In reality, it’s part of their broader risk profile, touching everything from loan approvals to insurance eligibility. Bringing this into your financial planning conversations helps clients avoid surprises and positions you as the one professional who sees the whole picture.

One area that often blindsides clients is how insurers use credit data. In many provinces, auto and home insurers can request access to your client’s credit information with consent to help determine home insurance premiums or eligibility for specific discounts. They don’t use the same credit score that lenders use. Instead, they generate an “insurance score” that draws on similar credit-report data but predicts the likelihood that a policyholder will file a claim. 

Credit History and Utilization Biggest Impact on Scores

A clean payment history, low credit utilization, and long-standing accounts can work in a client’s favour and potentially reduce their home insurance costs. And because this is a soft inquiry, it doesn’t impact their credit profile for future lending. Some provinces, such as Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, restrict or prohibit insurers from using credit data to set premiums, but many others allow it, subject to rules. The Insurance Bureau of Canada’s Code of Conduct requires insurers to obtain consent, keep data confidential, use current information, and give consumers the option to opt out — with complete transparency on how that choice may affect discounts.

When you put this together with the lending side, a pattern emerges. Mortgage and insurance underwriters, credit bureaus, and insurers all look at the same behaviours: paying bills on time, avoiding maxed-out revolving balances, keeping old accounts open, and limiting new credit applications. These habits tell a coherent story about stability and financial management. Clients don’t need to chase a perfect score. They need to demonstrate predictable, low-risk behaviour over time. And they usually need someone to show them which actions matter most.

Encouraging clients to check their credit bureau reports, review for errors, understand how utilization affects both lending and insurance, and create a simple repayment plan pays off across their financial life. For newcomers, clients rebuilding after setbacks, or clients preparing for large applications, tools like secured cards, small installment loans, and structured repayment timelines can accelerate their progress when used strategically. Folding credit coaching into your planning process ensures better mortgage outcomes, cleaner underwriting, and fewer last-minute issues when insurance or lending conditions change.

Nesto Is Ready to Support Your Client Conversations

If you want support reviewing a client’s credit profile or preparing them for a future mortgage approval, renewal, or refinance, connect with a nesto mortgage expert. By partnering with nesto, we can help interpret bureau details, clarify lender expectations, and position your client for a smoother, more competitive mortgage approval.

Partner with nesto mortgage experts to integrate personalized financing solutions into your client strategies. Together, we can make responsible borrowing a cornerstone of long-term wealth creation and foster client confidence.

Why Choose nesto

At nesto, our commission-free mortgage experts, certified in multiple provinces, provide exceptional advice and service that exceeds industry standards. Our mortgage experts are salaried employees who provide impartial guidance on mortgage options tailored to your needs and are evaluated based on client satisfaction and the quality of their advice. nesto aims to transform the mortgage industry by providing honest advice and competitive rates through a 100% digital, transparent, and seamless process.

nesto is on a mission to offer a positive, empowering and transparent property financing experience – simplified from start to finish.

Contact our licensed and knowledgeable mortgage experts to find your best mortgage rate in Canada.