Take heart though. There are some lawsuits pending about this issues: apparently, on the whole, minorities have lower credit rates; thus, this whole practice may be seen as discriminatory and might go away.

And you can fix the problems in your report. Go get a free copy of it from the government. I have a whole article about this topic on my site. You can find it, if you are interested (and ready to do a little work in fixing up your credit) at http://www.takingcontrolovermoney.com/taking_control_over_debt/how_to_take_control_over_yo.html. I would also write a letter to the insurance company (don’t mention the leaking water problem that you did not put in a claim for because there are these bad lists that they keep for people who even think about reporting leaks), and tell them that you are going to look around for better rates from other companies given your absolutely clean record of payment and never having put in a claim. You should definitely argue that this policy is unfair and discriminatory and perhaps, even suggest contacting the state insurance department (maybe even doing it) to seek appropriate remedies. Beware, though, they can drop you like a hot potato and, if you really can’t get other insurance, it could be a problem.
Good luck.