Florida graduate student Alexis Brake is doing something pretty unusual. Not only is she pursuing a combined M.D./Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Miami, Brake has decided to steer clear of something most Americans rely on every day: credit.

She went to college on a scholarship, has no credit cards and paid cash for her car. And about that car: She only drives it about 6,000 miles a year, commuting part of the way to work.

So when her car insurance started going up repeatedly, by hundreds of dollars per year, she was puzzled.

She wondered: Could her non-existent credit rating be a reason for her rising auto insurance rates? She started calling around.

"I was calling not only my insurance company but multiple insurance companies. I would ask them all the same questions," she r

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