COST AND PREMIUM
Your CLUE report: the claims history home insurers check
Most home insurers look up your claims history in a CLUE report, which generally covers the last seven years of claims on you and on the house, whoever owned it. You can get a free copy each year from LexisNexis, the consumer reporting agency that compiles it, and dispute errors under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which gives the agency 30 days to reinvestigate.
An explanation of claims history reports drawn from state insurance regulators, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the reporting agency's consumer pages, checked October 2026. Not legal or insurance advice. Insurers use claims history differently, and your state's rules apply.
What CLUE is and who uses it
CLUE stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance describes it as a claims-information report generated by LexisNexis, a consumer-reporting agency, generally containing up to seven years of personal auto and personal property claims history. Insurers contribute their claims to the exchange and query it when you apply or ask for a quote.
The Texas Department of Insurance says most companies use CLUE to learn your claims history, and that a company can charge you more or refuse to sell you a policy based on what the report contains. Tennessee's regulator explains the reasoning insurers give: claims history, or the history of claims at a specific property, helps them decide whether to offer coverage and at what price, because their studies show a relationship between past claims and future ones.
Because LexisNexis Risk Solutions operates as a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the protections that apply to credit reports also apply here: the right to see what is on file, to dispute it, and to be told when a report was used against you.
Two histories in one report: yours and the house's
A CLUE report is unusual in that it follows both people and property. Texas puts it plainly: CLUE reports show the claims history of people and houses, regardless of who owned them, for the last seven years. That has two consequences that surprise homeowners.
- Your claims follow you to a new house. A water claim you made at your last address can still appear when you insure your next one.
- The house's claims follow it to you. If the previous owner made two roof claims, an insurer quoting you may see them, even though you had nothing to do with either.
The second point matters most when buying. Tennessee notes that if you need a CLUE report on a property you would like to buy, the owner must request it. Asking the seller for the property's report before you finalize the purchase can tell you whether the house has a history of water or roof losses, which affects both the price of insurance and what you should inspect.
What gets reported, and what should not be
The line between a claim and a question is the part of CLUE that changes how you should talk to your insurer.
| Contact with your insurer | Reported to CLUE? | Source of the rule |
|---|---|---|
| A claim that was paid | Yes | Tennessee regulator: insurers report claims for which they pay out money |
| A file opened for a possible claim, even if nothing was paid | Yes | Tennessee regulator: insurers report claims for which they set up a file |
| A claim that was formally denied | Yes | Tennessee regulator: insurers report claims they formally deny |
| A question about coverage or your deductible | Should not be | Tennessee regulator: LexisNexis advises insurers not to report simple coverage or deductible questions; Texas: companies can report only if you filed a claim |
The middle two rows are the ones to watch. A conversation that starts as a question can become a claim file if you describe a specific loss and ask the insurer to look at it. If you are trying to decide whether a small loss is worth claiming, ask the agent first whether the call will open a file. State law sometimes adds protection: Tennessee prohibits an insurer from raising a homeowners premium or canceling a policy solely on the basis of inquiries such as coverage questions.
Texas adds a separate protection on the claims themselves. The Texas Department of Insurance says a company may not refuse to renew your policy because you filed a claim for something your policy does not cover, and that an insurer may nonrenew after three or more non-weather claims in three years only after warning you following the second.
What is on the report
Tennessee lists the claim details insurers provide: your name and date of birth, the policy number, the date of loss, the type of loss, the amount the company paid, and a description of the covered property, with the property address for homeowners claims. The layout below is a labeled illustration of how one property claim line reads, not a real report.
| Field (illustration) | Example entry | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Policyholder | Your name, date of birth | Is it you, or someone with a similar name? |
| Property address | The insured address | Is it your address, or a former one, or a mistake? |
| Policy number and insurer | The insurer that reported the claim | Did you hold that policy? |
| Date of loss | The day the damage occurred | Is it within the last seven years? |
| Type of loss | Water damage, wind, hail, theft, fire, liability | Does it match what happened? |
| Claim status | Paid, closed without payment, denied | A question you asked should not appear as a claim |
| Amount paid | The total the insurer paid | Does it match your settlement letters? |
How to get your report, step by step
- Choose how to request it. LexisNexis Risk Solutions takes requests online through its consumer disclosure portal, by mail using its printable request form, or by phone. The Texas and Tennessee regulators list 866-312-8076 for CLUE report requests; the LexisNexis portal lists its Consumer Center at 1-888-497-0011.
- Verify your identity. The portal asks for your name, address, date of birth and other details, and for some requests your Social Security number or your driver's license number and state.
- Wait for the letter. LexisNexis says that after an online request it sends a letter by U.S. Mail explaining how to access the report online.
- Read every line against your records. Pull out your own claim letters and settlement statements and compare dates, types and amounts.
- Keep a copy. If you dispute anything, the copy is your starting point and your proof of what was reported.
The report is free once a year. LexisNexis states that the FACT Act entitles consumers to one free copy of their applicable consumer report from certain consumer reporting agencies during a 12-month period, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies to provide those annual disclosures without charge on request, generally within 15 days of receiving the request.
Why a claims database falls under credit-report law
None of the Fair Credit Reporting Act sections cited on this page names CLUE. The Act reaches it through a definition. Section 1681a(x) defines a nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency as one that compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis relating to any of five subjects: medical records or payments, residential or tenant history, check writing history, employment history, or insurance claims. The last item is the one that brings a nationwide claims history file inside the same framework as a credit bureau.
That classification has three practical consequences. Section 1681j(a) requires agencies of that kind to make their disclosures once in any 12-month period on request and without charge, and directs the regulator to require a streamlined request process that includes, at a minimum, a toll-free telephone number. (The text of section 1681j still points to section 1681a(w); the Code's own note explains that paragraph was redesignated (x) in 2010.) Section 1681j(b) adds a separate free copy if you ask within 60 days of receiving an adverse action notice, so a declined application does not use up your annual copy. And section 1681j(c) gives one more free disclosure in any 12-month period if you certify in writing that you are unemployed and intend to apply for work within 60 days, that you receive public welfare assistance, or that you have reason to believe your file contains inaccurate information because of fraud. The fraud route can matter for claims reports: if you have reason to believe a claim under your name at an address you never owned is there because of fraud, rather than a simple file mix-up, that certification can qualify you for the extra free copy.
What the free copy has to show you
Section 1681g(a) lists what any consumer reporting agency must disclose when you ask, and several items are more useful for a claims report than people expect.
| What section 1681g(a) requires | Why it matters for a home claims history |
|---|---|
| All information in your file at the time of the request | Every claim entry the agency holds on you, not a summary |
| The sources of the information | Which insurer reported each claim, so you know whom to ask for a correction |
| Each person that procured a report on you in the past year (two years for employment purposes), by name, with address and phone on request | Which insurers looked you up while you were shopping, and whether any request came from a company you never contacted |
| A record of inquiries in the past year that identified you in connection with a credit or insurance transaction you did not initiate | Inquiries you did not start, listed separately |
| No duty to disclose credit scores or other risk scores or predictors | The disclosure can list the claims on file without including credit scores or other risk scores or predictors relating to you |
The last row is a limit worth knowing before you call an insurer. Seeing the same entries the underwriter saw does not tell you how that insurer weighed them. If a quote came back higher than expected, the report tells you what was on file; only the insurer can tell you how its rating plan used it, and whether a correction would change the price.
A second claims database to check
CLUE is not the only file of its kind. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's list of consumer reporting companies includes A-PLUS Property, a Verisk company, which it describes as one that collects and reports insurance claims and loss history associated with homes, auto or personal property. The bureau lists one free report every 12 months on request, by phone at 800-627-3487 (Option 2) or 800-709-8842, through Verisk's consumer disclosure site, or by mail to Verisk Insurance Solutions, Consumer Inquiry Center, P.O. Box 5404, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054.
Whether a particular insurer reads one file, the other or both is not something either listing says, so the cautious approach costs only postage and a phone call: request both before a renewal you plan to shop, read them side by side, and dispute an error in each file where it appears. The bureau's page adds that the company that provided incorrect information must correct the error and notify all of the consumer reporting companies to which it provided the inaccurate information. Check rather than assume: request both again after a dispute closes and confirm the entry changed in each.
Disputing an error
Errors on claims reports are usually of a few kinds: a claim that belongs to someone else, a question recorded as a claim, a paid amount that is wrong, a denied claim shown as paid, or a claim older than the reporting window. The Fair Credit Reporting Act sets the process.
| Stage | What the law requires | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| You dispute | The agency must reinvestigate information you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete | Send the dispute in writing with copies of your evidence; LexisNexis also takes disputes through its consumer center |
| Reinvestigation | Generally within 30 days of receiving your dispute; up to 15 more days if you send relevant information during the 30 days | Send everything at once to avoid the extension |
| The insurer is asked | The Tennessee regulator says LexisNexis verifies the information with the reporting insurer and notifies you of the results within 30 days | Contact the insurer too, and ask it to correct its report |
| Result | Information found inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable must be deleted or modified | Request an updated copy of the report |
| If not resolved | You may file a brief statement of the dispute; the agency may limit it to 100 words if it helps you write a clear summary, and must note the dispute in later reports | Write a factual statement: dates, what happened, what is wrong |
A statement is worth adding even when an entry is accurate but misleading. Tennessee notes you can add an explanation to an item that will show on all future reports. If a claim was caused by a burst municipal water main, or a paid claim was later reimbursed through subrogation against a contractor, a short factual note puts that in front of the next underwriter.
Show the numbers behind this figure
| When | What the statute requires |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | The agency receives your dispute and must reinvestigate free of charge |
| Within 5 business days | The agency notifies the company that furnished the disputed item, with all relevant information you sent |
| Day 30 | Reinvestigation deadline, counted from receipt of the dispute |
| Day 45 at most | Only if you sent relevant information during the first 30 days, and not if the item was already found inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable |
| Within 5 business days of completion | Written notice of the results to you |
Most of the dispute happens out of sight, so it helps to know the agency's side of the clock. Within 5 business days of receiving your dispute, the agency must pass it to the company that reported the item, with all the relevant information you sent. If an item is deleted, the agency may not put it back unless the company that furnished it certifies that it is complete and accurate, and it must tell you in writing within 5 business days of any reinsertion. If the agency decides a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant, including because you did not give enough information to investigate, it must tell you within 5 business days of that decision. The practical rule follows from all three: send a complete, specific dispute the first time, with the claim number, the date of loss and copies of your evidence, so there is nothing to call insufficient.
You can also ask LexisNexis for a description of procedure letter, which its portal says explains how it processes disputes you have in its system, if you want the process in writing.
When an insurer uses the report against you
If an insurer declines you, charges you more, or offers worse terms based in whole or in part on a consumer report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires it to tell you. The notice must give the name, address and phone number of the reporting agency, state that the agency did not make the decision, and tell you about your right to a free copy of the report within 60 days and your right to dispute it. LexisNexis has a dedicated request path for consumers who have received an adverse action letter.
An adverse action letter is the best time to get the report, because it tells you which agency's information was used. Request the copy, check it, and dispute anything wrong before you accept a higher quote or give up on a company.
How claims history fits with the rest of your price
Claims history is one rating factor among many. Texas lists it alongside the home's age and condition, replacement cost, construction materials, location and nearby fire protection, and notes that some companies also use credit, though a company cannot turn you down based only on your credit score. A clean CLUE report will not make an expensive house cheap to insure, and one claim will not usually make a policy unaffordable on its own.
The practical point is about small claims. A loss only slightly above your deductible still adds an entry to the report for years. Before claiming a small loss, compare what you would collect with what a surcharge or a lost claims-free credit could cost over the years the entry remains. Our deductible trade-off calculator runs the deductible side of that arithmetic, and our renewal increase decoder shows how a lost credit or a new surcharge shows up on a renewal.
A worked check before you shop
The steps below are a labeled illustration of a pre-shopping routine, not a description of any real report.
- Two months before renewal, request the free report.
- The report lists three entries: a 2021 wind claim paid at $6,200 on your current house, a 2023 entry marked closed without payment, and a 2019 water claim at an address you never lived at.
- The 2023 entry was a phone call to ask whether a fence was covered. You never filed. You dispute it as an inquiry recorded as a claim and ask the insurer to correct its report.
- The 2019 entry belongs to someone else. You dispute it as not yours.
- The 2021 claim is accurate. You leave it, and when you shop, you mention it yourself so quotes are based on the full picture.
- You shop with the corrected report, using our renewal shopping method so every quote uses identical limits and deductibles.
In this illustration, two of the three entries were wrong, and both would have been in front of every insurer you asked for a quote. Two months leaves room for the report, which the law gives the agency up to 15 days to provide, and for a 30-day reinvestigation to finish before the renewal date, though slow mail or the 15-day extension can push the result close to it.
The seven-year window, read carefully
Seven years is the figure both state regulators quoted here give for CLUE, and it lines up with the general rule in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which bars consumer reports from containing most adverse items of information that predate the report by more than seven years. Three practical points follow from it.
- The clock runs from the loss, not from the renewal. The report records the date of loss, so a claim from a storm in spring stays visible until roughly the same season seven years later.
- Older entries are worth disputing. If you find a claim on your report that is more than seven years old, raise it in the dispute and ask for it to be removed.
- Insurers may look back less far. The report can hold seven years, but how many of those years affect your price is set by the insurer's own rating rules, within whatever limits your state sets. Ask the insurer or agent how far back its rating plan counts claims.
Keep the dates of your own claims in a simple list with your policy documents. When you shop, you can then answer the application's claims-history questions accurately and compare them with what the report shows.
Common misunderstandings
- "I changed insurers, so the old claims are gone." CLUE is shared across contributing insurers. A new company can see the claims an old one reported.
- "I sold the house, so its claims are not my problem." Your claims stay with you, and the house's claims stay with the house, for the reporting window.
- "A denied claim doesn't count." Denied claims can be reported, with their status.
- "The report is the same as my credit report." It is a different report from a different agency. Credit-based insurance scores are a separate factor that some insurers use.
- "There's nothing I can do about an error." The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you a dispute right with a time limit, and the reporting insurer can correct its own entry.
When the history leads to a nonrenewal
If claims history is the reason given for a nonrenewal, check the report first, then the state rule. Some states limit when claims can be used; Texas, for example, does not count the first two appliance-related water claims toward its three-claim nonrenewal rule if the damage was fixed and passed inspection. Our nonrenewal guide covers the notice window and the options it leaves, and the claim filing guide covers how to document a claim so its record is accurate from the start.
If you are buying, the report on the house belongs in the first week after the offer; our offer-to-closing insurance timeline shows where it fits.
Questions homeowners ask about CLUE reports
How long do claims stay on a CLUE report?
Generally seven years. The Texas Department of Insurance says CLUE reports show the claims history of people and houses for the last seven years, and the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance says the report generally contains up to seven years of personal auto and property claims history. That matches the seven-year limit the Fair Credit Reporting Act sets for most adverse information in consumer reports.
Does calling my insurer with a question go on my CLUE report?
It should not. The Tennessee regulator says LexisNexis advises insurers not to report claims information when you only ask a question about coverage or your deductible. Texas says companies can report to CLUE only if you filed a claim. Tennessee also bars an insurer from raising a homeowners premium or canceling a policy solely because of inquiries such as coverage questions. Other states differ, so ask before you call whether the conversation will be logged as a claim.
How do I get my CLUE report for free?
Request it from LexisNexis Risk Solutions, the consumer reporting agency that produces it, online through its consumer disclosure portal, by mail with its printable form, or by phone. The Texas and Tennessee insurance regulators list 866-312-8076 for report requests; the LexisNexis portal lists its Consumer Center at 1-888-497-0011. You will need to verify your identity, usually with your Social Security number or driver's license number.
Can I see the CLUE report for a house I want to buy?
Not directly. The Tennessee regulator notes that the owner must request a CLUE report on a property. Ask the seller to request it and share it before you make your offer final, so you can see whether the house has a history of water, roof or other claims.
What happens if I dispute an error on my CLUE report?
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the agency generally has 30 days from receiving your dispute to reinvestigate, extendable by up to 15 days if you send relevant information during that time. It must delete or correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete or cannot be verified. If the dispute is not resolved in your favor, you can add a brief statement, which the agency may limit to 100 words, and it must note the dispute in later reports.
Will a claim that was denied show up?
It can. The Tennessee regulator says insurers report claims for which they pay money, set up a file for a possible claim, or formally deny. A denied claim appears with its status, which is why it is worth checking that the report shows the correct outcome and amount.
Sources and verification
CLUE as a LexisNexis report of up to seven years of auto and property claims, report contents, claims reported (paid, file set up, formally denied), LexisNexis guidance on coverage and deductible questions, Tennessee's inquiry protection, insurer use, free copy under the FCRA, owner must request a property report, 866-312-8076 and 888-497-0011, 30-day verification, explanations on future reports: Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, CLUE, checked October 22, 2026. CLUE use by most companies, people and houses for seven years regardless of owner, charge more or refuse, reporting only if a claim was filed, free copy each year, credit and claims as rating factors, no nonrenewal for a claim the policy does not cover, three-claim rule and appliance water exception: Texas Department of Insurance, Home insurance guide (updated June 1, 2026), checked October 22, 2026. Request methods, identity verification, letter by mail, FACT Act free copy every 12 months, description of procedure letter, adverse action request path, consumer reporting agency status: LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Consumer Disclosure and request form, checked October 22, 2026. Free annual disclosure by nationwide specialty agencies and 15-day timing: 15 U.S.C. 1681j; 30-day reinvestigation, 15-day extension, deletion of inaccurate or unverifiable information, 100-word statement of dispute: 15 U.S.C. 1681i; seven-year limit on other adverse items: 15 U.S.C. 1681c; adverse action notice contents: 15 U.S.C. 1681m; all checked October 22, 2026. Definition of a nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency, including insurance claims: 15 U.S.C. 1681a(x); annual free disclosure, toll-free request line, free copy within 60 days of an adverse action notice, and the unemployment, public assistance and fraud free disclosures, with the note on the 2010 redesignation of 1681a(w) as (x): 15 U.S.C. 1681j(a) to (c); contents of a disclosure (file, sources, recipients in the past year or two years for employment, inquiries not initiated by the consumer, no duty to disclose risk scores): 15 U.S.C. 1681g(a); notice to the furnisher within 5 business days, the limit on the 15-day extension, reinsertion only on certification with notice within 5 business days, frivolous-dispute notice, and results notice within 5 business days of completion: 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a); all checked October 29, 2026. A-PLUS Property description, free report every 12 months, phone numbers, mailing address, and the furnisher's duty to correct and notify the reporting companies: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, A-PLUS Property (by Verisk), read October 29, 2026 from the Internet Archive copy of July 10, 2026 because the live page refused automated requests. The sample report line and the pre-shopping routine are labeled illustrations. See Methodology and the Disclaimer.
Request the report about two months before your next renewal, so a dispute can finish before you shop; that timing turns the report from a surprise in an underwriter's file into something you have already checked. More cost and premium guides are on the guides page, and the published average for your state is on the cost by state table.
The practical uses of the report are worked in two other guides: contesting a cancellation or nonrenewal after a claim and deciding whether a small claim is worth putting on it.