CLUE Reports: The Claims History Insurers See

When you request an insurance quote, the insurer does not take your claims history on trust. It pulls a report from a shared industry database, and what comes back affects the price it offers and sometimes whether it offers at all.

The main one is the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, universally shortened to C.L.U.E., maintained by LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Insurers contribute claims data to it and draw on it during underwriting.

You can read the same file. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you that right, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lists the company among the consumer reporting companies whose files you can request.

What is in it

A CLUE report is organized by claim, and each entry typically shows:

• The date of the loss
• The insurer that handled it
• The type of loss, described by a coded category such as fire, water damage, theft or collision
• The amount paid
• The status of the claim
• The property or vehicle involved

There are two report types: CLUE Auto, covering vehicle claims, and CLUE Personal Property, covering home claims.

The database carries up to seven years of claims history. Claims handled by insurers that do not participate in the exchange do not appear.

Two things people find surprising

Property claims attach to the property, not only to you. A CLUE Personal Property report is pulled on an address. That means claims filed by a previous owner can appear when you request a quote on a house you have just bought, and can affect your terms even though you had nothing to do with them.

An inquiry can be recorded even without a claim. Calling your insurer to ask hypothetically about a loss can, depending on the insurer and how the call is logged, result in a claim record even if nothing is ever paid. Whether that happens depends on the insurer's practices and on state rules, and it is a good reason to ask up front whether a conversation is being recorded as a claim inquiry or a claim.

Both explain the standard advice to ask a seller for the property's claims history during a purchase, and to check the report yourself before shopping. See buying your first home.

Your right to a free copy

Because it compiles insurance claims files on consumers nationwide, LexisNexis is treated under the FCRA as a nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency. That classification carries specific obligations:

• One free disclosure every twelve months on request
• The file must be provided within fifteen days of the request where the free annual disclosure applies
• An additional free copy after adverse action, meaning if you were declined coverage or charged more because of the report, the adverse action notice entitles you to a copy even if you have already used your annual one
• A capped fee for additional copies within the same year

How to request one:

• Online through the LexisNexis consumer disclosure portal at consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com, which is the fastest route and verifies your identity with questions drawn from your own history
• By mail, using the form from the same portal
• By phone, using the consumer center number listed on the portal

Because records are tied to specific properties and vehicles as well as to your name, have your previous addresses and vehicle information ready. Requesting your own file is a consumer disclosure, not an insurance inquiry, and does not affect your rate.

The other reports insurers use

CLUE is the best known but not the only file involved.

Report	What it holds
CLUE Auto and CLUE Personal Property	Claims history for vehicles, homes and people
Motor vehicle record	Violations, convictions and license status, held by the state licensing agency. See tickets, accidents and your rate
Credit-based insurance score	A score derived from credit data, restricted or prohibited in some states
Property characteristic and inspection data	Building attributes, roof, systems, and sometimes aerial imagery
Prior insurance and coverage history	Whether coverage has been continuous. See cancellation, non-renewal and lapses
Driving behavior data	Where a telematics program applies. See telematics and usage-based insurance

Several of these are consumer reports subject to the same FCRA access and dispute rights. Which are permitted in rating varies by state.

Disputing an error

Errors do occur: a claim assigned to the wrong person, a wrong payment amount, a claim belonging to a prior owner, an inquiry recorded as a claim, or a duplicate. The FCRA gives you the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information, and the reporting company and the insurer that furnished the data are both required to investigate, at no charge to you.

A workable sequence:

1. Request the report and read every entry, including small ones.
2. Gather documentation, such as a closing statement showing you did not own the property, a letter from the insurer stating no payment was made, or claim correspondence.
3. File the dispute with LexisNexis through the process on its consumer portal, and describe the specific entry and why it is wrong.
4. Dispute with the furnishing insurer as well, since the furnisher has its own investigation obligation.
5. Keep copies and dates of everything you send.
6. Ask for a corrected copy when the investigation completes, and confirm the change.
7. Escalate if it is not resolved. Complaints can go to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and to your state's Department of Insurance if the issue concerns the insurer's conduct.

If you were declined or repriced on the basis of the report, ask the insurer to requote once the correction is made.

What this means for shopping

• Check your file before you shop, not after a quote comes back higher than expected.
• Remember the seven-year window. An old claim eventually ages out of the exchange, and insurers also apply their own lookback periods, which differ. That is a real reason to request quotes again as time passes.
• Weigh small claims against the record. A modest claim can affect pricing for years. See will filing a claim raise my rate.
• Be precise on applications. Understating claims history rarely works, since the insurer is checking, and a discrepancy can create problems later.
• Ask about not-at-fault claims. How a claim where someone else was responsible is treated varies by insurer and state. See subrogation and getting your deductible back.

Related reading: how insurers set your rate, how to shop for insurance, and checking an insurer: complaint indexes and ratings.

Reporting practices, retention periods, rating use and consumer rights vary by company and by state, and federal law and state law control. Nothing here is legal advice. For your own situation, speak with a licensed agent, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or your state's Department of Insurance. You can also request auto or home insurance quotes and get connected with licensed providers in your area.