What is Your Insurance CLUE Report?

When you apply for a loan, you expect that the lender will pull your credit, to see what your past history is paying off loans. There are entire credit reporting agencies, which keep records of your debt and payment history on that debt. You probably knew that-but what you may not have known, is that there is a similar database when it comes to insurance.

What is the CLUE Database?

The database is called CLUE, which stands for the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. This is a database of claims that are made for homes and vehicles. Like the credit reporting agencies, the companies that maintain the database are subject to the strict rules and regulations in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The CLUE report contains a seven year history (the same as your debt/credit report) of insurance losses. The database includes claims that you made, claims that were paid, and the types of claims that you made.

But the file doesn’t just include actual claims made—it can also include potential claims. For example, if you were to call your insurance company or insurance agent to see if a certain kind of accident or damage would be covered under your policy, just that inquiry could create a file in your CLUE report.

Of course, the information in your CLUE report is based on what is submitted to it by your insurers, and most report to the database. When you apply for insurance (homeowners’ insurance, car insurance or other types)—just as when you apply for money—you authorize the insurance companies to check the database for claims. Some insurances will deny coverage for you, or raise your premiums or rates, if you have too many claims.

What’s in Your Report?

You have a right to get your CLUE report, if you want to. You can get a free one every year, and one free anytime there is an adverse action, such as being denied insurance because of something in your CLUE report. Because what is in the report determines how much they pay for insurance, you may want to check that everything there is accurate. Again, just like credit marks in your credit report, anything inaccurate must be investigated, and then deleted, if it is incorrect or can’t be verified as accurate. You also may have a right to sue, if something inaccurate, remains on your report after you ask that it be investigated or deleted.

Information in your CLUE report doesn’t have to be negative. Often, a clean CLUE report can help you sell a home or a car, to demonstrate that there have been no claims or problems with the property (however, only the owner, not the prospective buyer, can obtain a report).

However, CLUE, or the prospect of a “clean” insurance claim history, shouldn’t deter you from making an insurance claim, if in fact there has been damage.

If you have a homeowners’ insurance problem, we can help you. Contact the Miami property damage insurance attorneys at Velasquez & Associates P.A. today for help.

Resources:

consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com/request

nasdaq.com/articles/what-is-a-c.l.u.e.-report-for-insurance-2020-12-11