LexisNexis Risk Solutions on your credit report: what this inquiry means

Who LexisNexis Risk Solutions is

LexisNexis Risk Solutions supplies data to financial institutions, insurance carriers, healthcare providers and government agencies. Its consumer file draws on public records, publicly available sources and proprietary and third-party data, and the company also runs insurance-related data and scores. It owns SageStream, and its consumer portal handles requests for both.

Is it a hard or soft inquiry?

When an insurer or a lender uses LexisNexis to verify identity, check records or price a policy, the check isn't a credit application, so it isn't one of the hard inquiries FICO counts. The check is recorded in LexisNexis's own disclosure report.

Why it showed up on your report

You asked for a home or auto insurance quote, opened an account that required identity verification, or applied with a company that buys LexisNexis data. If an insurer quoted you a higher rate or turned you down because of LexisNexis data, it owes you an adverse action notice naming the company.

How to check that you authorized it

1. Order your LexisNexis Consumer Disclosure Report and read who received it.
2. Line those names up with insurance quotes, policy renewals and account openings.
3. If you got an adverse action letter, call the LexisNexis Consumer Center at 800-456-6004 as the portal directs.

How to reach LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Request your LexisNexis Consumer Disclosure Report online through the consumer portal, by phone, or by mailing the printable request form. One report every 12 months is free, and a freeze is available through the portal's security freeze page.

Guides that go deeper

• Specialty consumer reports: ChexSystems, tenant screening and moreBanks, landlords, insurers, and utilities often check reports you've never seen. Who keeps them, how to get yours free, and how to fix errors in them.
• Why your credit affects your insurance premiumsInsurers in most states use a score built from your credit report to price auto and home policies. How it differs from a FICO Score and your rights.
• Freezing all the bureaus, including the ones nobody mentionsEquifax, Experian, and TransUnion are three of the freezes you need. The other four, with each company's own freeze link, phone and mail address.
• Hard vs. soft inquiries: which credit checks count against youA hard inquiry comes from a credit application and can trim your score. A soft one never does. A table of the common checks, gray zones included.