Get a C.L.U.E.

September 02, 2014

Want a clue on how your auto and homeowners insurance is determined? Any prior claims you have filed in the past 7 years for collision or comprehensive damage on your car or theft, fire, or storm damage to your home are reported to C.L.U.E. – which is the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. Too many claims on your C.L.U.E. report could even lead to being dropped by your insurance company.

What brought this to my attention was a bold IMPORTANT NOTICE clause on my recent homeowner’s insurance renewal notice that warned me that my insurance company could cancel or refuse to renew my policy if I had 3 or more weather-related claims within the past 3 years. Luckily, I haven’t had a damage claim since 2003 when Hurricane Isabel knocked down about 15 trees and smashed my brand-new back deck so I had nothing to worry about. Believe it or not, it isn’t just claims that you’ve filed but also any claims that any previous owners of your home may have filed in the past 7 years that show up on the C.L.U.E. report and could impact the cost and insurability of your homeowner’s coverage.

This got me curious about what might be showing on my report so I went to the website of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, which maintains the C.L.U.E. files. In compliance with the FACT Act, you can receive a free annual report of your C.L.U.E. file on your auto and property records. I had no claims showing on my property report but I did have 2 claims showing on my auto records and 4 “possible related claims” also were included.

Now I know why my stepson has been excluded by my auto insurer from EVER driving one of my vehicles. The 4 possible related claims showing up on my report are collision claims he has had on his own auto policy over the past 7 years. These show up on my personal file because he had the same address as mine when he first got his driver’s license and even though he has moved out on his own, that old address is still tagged on his C.L.U.E. report and links to mine. My insurance company flagged those related claims and issued an exclusion rider on my stepson a few years ago.

Why should you care what’s in your C.L.U.E. file? Any inaccuracy on your report could be causing you to pay additional premiums or even keeping you from getting insurance coverage at all. By reviewing your report on an annual basis, you can dispute any errors before they negatively impact you.

You also want to order a C.L.U.E. report if you are buying a home that will be new to you but was previously occupied by another homeowner. In that case, you’ll need to ask the seller to order the property report for you to view. If you are uncomfortable filling out the online request form, you can also call LexisNexis at 1-866-312-8076 to request your C.L.U.E. report. Either way, be sure to get a clue.