The quick answer is NO, a hard pull credit report isn't done and nothing shows on your credit report. We can do 15 different insurance quotes for you and nothing would show on your credit report at all. Insurance companies get a "score range" you fall in when factoring for your home and/or auto rates.

But what is called a "hard pull" that shows on your credit report is never done. In my opinion, insurance companies would never be allowed to use credit as a rating factor if that was the case. Consumers credit would be affected, which shouldn't and doesn't happen. I see this question a lot on various consumer credit sites and on insurance related blogs.

                                                                                             Tom Larsen

No they do not. There has to be a police recorded report for the DMV to pick it up. If it was a fender bender between 2 parties, with no police involved, it wouldn’t get to the DMV. However, the insurance companies loss WILL report it to C.L.U.E. (Comprehensive Loss Underwriter Exchange) which will show up. When changing insurance companies, they ALL go a C.L.U.E. check and want to know what happened in the incident.
(We’ve had $25 reported on a C.L.U.E., $121 mirror on a C.L.U.E, $75 towing on a C.L.U.E…….they are all there!)

Insurance follows the car, so even if you are not insured, the insured car you are driving is covered. As far as cheapest coverage, deal with an independent insurance broker, who can shop your insurance for you (often with 7–10 different insurance companies.

I would guess NOT because there is a service called C.L.U.E. (Comprehensive Loss Underwriter Exchange) that all insurance companies subscribe to. My guess is that is where Carfax probably pulls their information from. No insurance company would report directly to Carfax.

When it no longer has a good book value and you can afford to fix your car yourself. Usually about 7–8 year old vehicles stop having the resale value but use Kelly Blue Book or similar website to look up values.

​You can but most likely your insurance company won't change their mind. Another option is to buy the car back from the insurance company. If you believe the damage is repairable, then buy it back from them and fix it. It does become the property of the insurance company once you accept the totaled settlement, so you would then have to negotiate a buy-back.