What is a CLUE Report?

Have you ever wondered how a car insurance agent giving you a quote knows so much about you? Well, a lot of the information they get comes directly from the C.L.U.E. report. CLUE is short for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. The CLUE report offers is a database of information which contains all of your insurance claims relating to both your auto insurance and home insurance. The information can date back as far as seven years.

How Does It Work?

An agent inputs your name, address, and birth date into their system and the CLUE generates a report. The agent can then view every claim you have filed on any previous auto insurance policy. It can even state if you have an active car insurance policy.

Insurance Carrier: The CLUE report usually lists your current insurance carrier and states whether or not your policy is in active or cancelled status. It can sometimes list past carriers but usually only if you filed a claim with the company.
Date of Loss: The dates of past losses are important. Insurance carriers use this information to help determine your rate. Minor violations usually add a surcharge to your rate for three years and major violations often last five years. Zero traffic violations and accidents in five years will probably get you a great discount.
Amount of Payout: Does the amount of money paid out on a claim really matter? Well, yes and no. Most claims paid out are over $500. Really it does not make a difference if $1500 or $5000 paid out. Sometimes claims under $500 will garner a surcharge, but it depends highly upon your car insurance carrier. Total loss claims can be a red flag to insurance carriers especially when very high dollar amounts are paid out. An underwriter may not want to accept the risk.
At Fault or Not At Fault: Insurance carriers always want to know who is at fault in an auto accident. The at fault driver is almost always penalized with a surcharge to their insurance rate.

Sometimes a CLUE report can even list the year, make, and model of your past and current vehicles. It can even list the VIN to your vehicle in the report.

Drivers in the household can appear on the report. So when the agent calls you back with your quote they might ask you about past vehicles or drivers you never even told them about.

How Does This Help?

The CLUE report will in fact make your car insurance quote more accurate. Maybe you forgot to mention a driver, maybe you do not have access to your VIN numbers, the report will give the insurance agent the information needed to determine an accurate rate.

What Do I Do If There Is An Error on My CLUE Report?

The first place I would start is with the insurance carrier reporting the error. Call them directly either by calling their 24/7 customer service line or the insurance agent. If you are not getting the assistance you need, you can call LexisNexis, the provider of the CLUE report, and they will walk you through the process to dispute a claim. This is also where you can request a free report