Get clued in
C.L.U.E. is actually a series of different reports that fall under the same umbrella, but they all have the same function. In general, when someone refers to C.L.U.E. they are either about the report of the personal property - which details the owners or property insurance - or Auto report - detailing all auto insurance claims. Another series of reports that you may encounter is the A-PLUS (Property Automated System underwriting loss), which also details the ownership and car insurance history, but is offered by Verisk, a well-known competitor owner CLUE, LexisNexis. Both reports - C.L.U.E. and A-Plus -. Retail seven years of claims history for each application under damage automobile and property
The C.L.U.E. reports themselves, sampled here, contain relevant information that insurers recorded, such as your name, birth date and social security number as well as details about your property or vehicle with the claims that you might have deposited, such as accidents, burglary or natural disasters or tickets you have received. In some cases, requests for a repair estimate, even those below your deductible, or other minor complaints can be registered C.L.U.E. - Although it is frowned upon by LexisNexis and some states have laws that prevent it to an extent. Additional state laws, which vary from state to state, also require insurance companies to disclose when they send information about you to a database as A-PLUS or C.L.U.E. In fact, for many people, it is likely how they first found about C.L.U.E.
How your C.L.U.E. report affects you?
While this information is accessible only by insurance companies that contribute to databases and you, a C.L.U.E. negative report could potentially increase your insurance premiums or completely refuse to cover you if the insurance company believes that you can be more of a risk. Similar to your credit reports, you can not "opt-out" of a C.L.U.E. report or censor information that is added to C.L.U.E. However, unlike credit reports, there are very few circumstances in which a person other than an employee of the insurance company will review or request information. While all insurance companies access C.L.U.E. or A-PLUS, in general the insurance companies do not disclose the databases they use, except in the case of an adverse action notice or the laws of your state requirement to inform you if your information is updated in a database as CLUE
Have you any idea?
As with credit reports, the Fair Credit Reporting Act entitles you to learn about your C.L.U.E. reports once a year by an organization such as LexisNexis or Verisk. Like your credit score, it is best not to stay any idea of your position, because it affects your insurability.
Once you have requested a copy of the report and carefully looked over, you can dispute any information or leave notes on items like a way to fight against the incorrect details on your C.L.U.E. report. Challenging you could erase mistakes or even misattributed information that probably unknowingly prevented you from getting insurance or your insurance premium underway. It is a good idea to offer for your free annual check everything on it is accurate.
Please note that you are also entitled to a free report every time you receive an adverse action notice, which tells you when your insurance company has chosen to deny you a service or application based on personal factors. Sometimes these reviews mention specific items in your C.L.U.E. report, which will allow you either to change or challenge the section if it is inaccurate or does not reflect the extent of damage. This can be especially important for property insurance because some forms of C.L.U.E. property reports focus on the history of the property rather than the history of the property. This means damage that existed at home before buying could be on the report because they are considered an indication of the state and insurability of your house. On the other hand, C.L.U.E. reports for car insurance apply only to damage, tickets or claims under your home. This means that if you buy a used car, the history of the car will not be counted against your insurability assessed, although it is always a good idea to look into the history of the vehicle whenever the Buying a used car.
Want to learn more about auto insurance or credit reports? Follow our blog auto insurance for serious things, and visit our credit report monitoring blog to learn more about why it is essential to keep also an eye on your credit health.