How Does A CLUE Report Affect Your Insurance Rates?

Way back in the early 2000s, there was a popular fortune telling game known as MASH. Using only a piece of paper and a pencil, the youth would try to ascertain their future love life, career choices, and whether they’d live in a Mansion, Apartment, Shack, or House. 

Much like the Magic Eight Ball, MASH is extremely scientific. The piece of paper just knows, and those four little letters can be pretty informative. Learning you are destined to marry Timothée Chalamet could push you to move to Hollywood. And if you’re fated to buy a mansion, that might affect your savings plan and retirement contributions. Certainly, we know it means you’ll be looking into homeowners insurance ASAP!

But MASH isn’t the only set of letters that you should think affect your future, especially as it relates to insurance. In fact, the four letters that may just have a slightly larger impact on your day-to-day are CLUE, which stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. (And yes, we agree, it is just as sexy an acronym as MASH.)

What Is A CLUE Report?

If you find yourself applying for car or home insurance, your premiums are partially determined by the risks that you pose to your provider. If you’re the kind of driver who has had multiple accidents, you’ll probably have to spend more than someone who has never had any. 

Sometimes, our Marble members search for insurance quotes but can’t seem to get any. The experience can be really frustrating for our users — and for us! But it’s not that we just didn’t try hard enough to find quotes (we promise!). Instead, one of the main reasons that our members can’t get any insurance offers is because their CLUE report has too many claims for a provider to want to insure them.

The CLUE report contains information about a house or vehicle and whether any claims (no matter how tiny) have been made. It’s kind of like a credit score, but for insurance claims. 

But how exactly did the insurer learn about your claim history? Well, when you apply for auto or home insurance policies, you authorize providers to check your records at consumer reporting agencies, which includes LexisNexis, the research firm that generates CLUE reports.

This means that a CLUE report for your home could have claims made by previous owners. It also means that every time you apply for a new car or homeowners policy, your insurer can see whether you’re a risky candidate — and whether this means you’ll need to pay higher premiums. 

We want to be really clear about this: Every claim you make on your home or car will end up in a CLUE report, even if you weren’t at fault. Just as MASH is irreversible (you’re in that shack for life), so too are CLUE reports. 

What Will You Find In A CLUE Report? 

Both you and your insurer are entitled to request a CLUE report from LexisNexis. So if you end up requesting a copy, here’s what you can expect to find:

• Insurance company’s information
• The dates and information for every loss or claim
• Whether a claim was denied
• If the claim was paid out, how much was paid
• Homeowner’s insurance policy number and claim number

While this sounds detailed, the report is actually light on specifics. This means that if you see a claim was made in December 2022 on your house, it won’t tell you whether that’s because the roof was damaged or if the issue was in the basement. But you will be given enough information to contact the homeowner should you wish to find out more.

Sometimes, a CLUE report will come back with errors. Say you’re one of those people with a super common name (we’re looking at you, James Smith). You might find that another James Smith, one who has made multiple claims in rapid succession, is mentioned in the CLUE report. Because other identifying details aren’t provided, that could mess up your insurance.

If you notice incorrect information, you will want to deal with this immediately because it can affect your premiums. If you want to correct the information at hand, you’ll need to submit a dispute. If you want to amend or add clarifying details, you can submit a statement of explanation. 

How To Request A CLUE Report

The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 gives individuals the legal right to request at least one free CLUE report for their property or vehicle each year. 

You can ask for your report from LexisNexis by phone, mail, or online. Here’s what you’ll need to provide:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Address 
• Social security
• Driver’s license number

And keep in mind: There are absolutely no penalties for requesting a CLUE report.

Do All Insurance Companies Report Back to CLUE?

Yep! Well, almost all: 96% of home insurance providers and 99% of auto insurance providers contribute to CLUE. And when they do submit information to CLUE, here is what they send:

• Claim and payout amount
• Information if the claim was denied
• Information if there may possibly be a claim

What Should I Do With a Clue Report?

CLUE reports are especially useful if you’re buying or selling a home. If you’re buying, you might want to see if multiple claims have been made on the house. Is your dream home actually a lemon? 

But remember, a blank CLUE report does not mean that the property or car is damage-free. Instead, it simply means that no claims have been filed. Only the owner of a property or vehicle can put in the request for a Clue Report, so if you’d like to get a CLUE report for a potential property, your real estate agent will need to contact the current owner.

If you’re selling your home, a blank CLUE report can be powerful. Your buyer might like knowing that the home is claim-free. People understand that buildings cause problems and life happens, so a prospective buyer might still be reassured if they only see a couple claims on the home.

And finally, CLUE reports might reveal past damage to a car or home, which could prove useful if you’re considering changing or upping your coverage. 

Keep on The Right Side of CLUE with Marble 

Knowledge is power, and CLUE reports give you more of that knowledge. Once you’re aware of any old claims, Marble can help you shop for policies, compare quotes, and earn rewards. Sign up today!