In the coming times, the CIBIL score along with the Big Data will play an important role, not only in deciding your creditworthiness but also your employment as well as the premium that you will pay on your insurance. Therefore, this is the right time to take greater hand in managing your credit score. And the first step is to understand how to read your credit report.

You are applying for a new home loan and the bank executive says, your loan application will be accepted on the basis of your CIBIL score. You thank the executive, leave the bank and hope that this unknown CIBIL score works in your favour. Although, people have started developing interest in managing their own finances, unfortunately the credit awareness in India is still far too low. It is not until people apply for bigger credits like home loans, do they get to know that there is an organization that is keeping track of their spending and payment habits, analyzing it and providing a score on the basis of which their creditworthiness is decided.

Those who are aware of credit scores do not show keen interest in getting their credit reports from CIBIL to monitor their financial health. Those few who get their credit report on a regular basis are only interested in the first page, where their CIBIL TransUnion Score is given. Unsurprisingly then, the larger population doesn't know how to read their CIBIL report.

There are six different sections in a CIBIL report, each of them containing information pertaining to you. These sections are:

1. CIBIL TransUnion Score

As suggested by the name, this section gives you your credit score, which falls between 300 and 900. Higher the score better are your chances of getting a loan sanctioned. This score is calculated on the basis of a number of factors including your repayment history, credit utilization ratio, new credit and so on. If you have a lower score, your loan application may still get approved, but you will get expensive loan. With higher credit score, it is easier to bargain with the lender for favourable credit terms. A credit score of seven hundred and above is considered good. This is one of the most important parts of your CIBIL score which will let you know about your current credit health in just one glance.

2. Personal Information

This section contains all your personal information including name, gender, date of birth, identification numbers like passport number and PAN number etc. Though most people tend to give only a fleeting look on this section, it is important to ensure that every entry in this section is accurate.

3. Contact Information

This section has your contact details like phone number and addresses. Again, make sure to have a thorough look on this section. If you find that there is an address in the CIBIL report where you have never lived, you may be or about to become a victim of credit card fraud or identity theft. If you find any unknown address make sure to rectify the same as soon as possible.

4. Employment Information

This section contains the name of your employer and your income at the time of applying for a new credit.

5. Account Information

This is one of the most important sections of your entire credit report and hence need extra attention. It contains details about your open, closed and settled lines of credit. The section has the account details, current status of each account, lender’s name, and type of credit and so on. If you find any account opened in your name which you cannot identify, you will need to rectify it as soon as possible. The potential error in the account details can have a huge impact on your credit score.

6. Enquiry Information

Lastly, in this section you can find out all the enquiries made on your credit report. Every time you apply for a loan, the lender pulls off the credit report, which is called an enquiry. Too many enquiries on your report in a short time may negatively impact your credit score.

(Contributed by Rajiv Raj, Director & Co-Founder at Creditvidya.com)