CLUE Report Guide

Joshua Taylor, Car Insurance WriterNov 20, 2020

Joshua Taylor, Car Insurance Writer
Nov 20, 2020

You’ve had an accident and filed a claim. You’re worried your insurer may raise your rates. Can you switch to another insurance company that doesn’t know about the accident?

Unfortunately, insurers do have access to claims data from their competitors. Insurers will get your complete claims history from a CLUE report. So if another company doesn’t know immediately about your accident, they soon will.

Table of Contents

What Is a CLUE Report?Getting a Copy Of Your Free CLUE Report Tips and Recommendations Sample CLUE Report CLUE Report FAQ

What Is a CLUE Report?

CLUE is a database of insurance claims managed by LexisNexis. All of the major auto insurance companies make monthly loss reports to CLUE. And any insurance company who considers bringing you on board as a customer will consult CLUE before they offer you official car insurance rates.

LexisNexis is just one of many consumer reporting agencies, such as credit bureaus, who track information about your financial history. The competing A-PLUS report from Verisk also tracks auto insurance claims. A-PLUS is less commonly used by insurers, and it functions similarly to a CLUE report.

CLUE’s auto insurance database tracks and retains the following customer information, otherwise known as your “loss history.” Information is retained for seven years.

What's Included In A CLUE Report

Your Name
Address
Date of birth
SSN
Previous claims that insuers have paid
Previous claims that insueres have denied
Serious inquiries you have made to your agent or adjuster

Under normal circumstances, your insurer will request your CLUE report only once when they take you as a customer. Once they see your report they may adjust your rates if you’ve neglected to inform them of all losses in your history. After that they’ll keep their own records.

Each insurer weighs various types of claims differently when setting rates for your insurance. Remember that any time a claim is filed it will end up in your report, even if you weren’t issued a ticket or found at-fault for the incident.

Getting a Copy of Your Free CLUE Report

In light of the CLUE report’s direct impact on your wallet, understanding the contents of your file and checking it for errors is extremely important. The good news is – much like with your credit report – you can request, review, and dispute items in your report.

That’s because the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) entitles you to a copy of your report from any consumer reporting agency, including LexisNexis’s CLUE, for free once per year.

You can request a copy of your CLUE report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions on the Web or by phone:

LexisNexis Personal Reports
(866) 312-8076

A copy of your A-PLUS report is available from Verisk:

A-PLUS Loss History Report
(800) 627-3487

If you find errors in your report, there are steps you can take to rectify the problem:

Contact LexisNexis: They’ll contact the insurance company that reported the issue and attempt to resolve any discrepancies on your behalf.
Add a Personal Statement: You can add personal statements to your report.
Contact Your Insurer: If your current insurer has made an error, you should contact them immediately and notify them of the error.

Tips and Recommendations

Information remains on your CLUE report for seven years. Knowing when old accidents and claims will age out of your report can help you know when to expect a rate drop from your current insurer or to go shopping for better rates.

Remember that if you are denied insurance or if your rates increase you are legally entitled to receive notification that contains the reasons and the factors that caused the decision. This may include negative information from CLUE or other reports such as your credit history or driving record. Learn more about your FCRA rights regarding consumer reporting.

Credit Report: You can also get an annual free copy of your credit report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Driving Report: You can obtain a copy of your driving record from your state’s DMV or license bureau.

Agents and online insurers are generally happy to help with questions about how your auto insurance rates are determined. Many will show you a copy of any reports they use to calculate your rates, and by accessing your current insurance account online, you may be able to see the claims and driving record information your insurer is using to set your rates.

Finally, state governments regulate insurance and privacy rights. Many states have additional laws designed to protect citizens’ privacy rights. If you have concerns about a claims history report you cannot resolve, contact your state insurance commissioner.

Sample CLUE Report

CLUE Report

Questions & Answers (2 questions)

Ask your Question

How long are you considered a high-risk driver?

Upvotes

WalletHub

@WalletHub

You are considered a high-risk driver for 6 months to 10 years. It depends on how far back an insurance company looks in your official driving record and Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) report for accident claims and moving violations, as well as the reason you were designated as risky in the first place. Not all auto insurance providers have the same rules regarding how long they consider someone a high-risk driver, and the “look back” time that insurance companies use when checking your driving record and claims history varies from company to company.

Often, drivers have to wait for points they've accumulated from traffic tickets and moving violations to fall off their driving record, or become too old for an insurer to see, before their insurance provider will stop considering them a high-risk driver. Insurance companies use their own points systems to determine how much of a risk a driver poses and then calculate rates accordingly, but they generally follow the same timeline as the DMV when it comes to having those points fall off your driving record. That could take anywhere from 3 to 10 years.

Most minor traffic violations, such as speeding tickets or single-car accidents, typically stay on a driving record for 3 years. Major violations, like getting a DUI/DWI or fleeing an officer, will usually remain on your record for 5-10 years. You can request a copy of your auto insurance company's point system, sometimes called a surcharge schedule, to get a better understanding of how accumulating points will affect your rate and how long the company may consider you a high-risk driver.

On the other hand, new drivers who have never had insurance, or drivers who have not maintained continuous insurance coverage, are usually only considered high-risk customers for the first term of their insurance policy (typically 6 months) so they can get established with a company or take steps to immediately improve their driving record, like by completing a defensive driving course. Teen drivers and adults with little or no history as an active driver are also considered high-risk drivers until they gain more driving experience.

Why Insurance Companies Could Consider You a High-Risk Driver:

You're a teenage or senior driver.
You get a major traffic violation, like a DUI/DWI.
You accumulate enough points on your driving record (the threshold for rate increases is usually two or four).
You don't have proof of at least six months of continuous insurance coverage.
Your credit score is low, or you have no credit history.
You rent rather than own your home.

The good news is you won't be considered a high-risk driver forever, as long as you start driving responsibly and let enough time pass for your past violations to stop showing up on your DMV record. However, if you continue to get tickets, have accidents and/or let your insurance coverage lapse, you could be considered high-risk for as long as you're an active driver.

Does filing a claim increase car insurance rates?

Upvotes

Anamarie Waite , Car Insurance Writer

@anamarie.waite

Filing a claim will increase car insurance premiums for three to five years in almost all cases. How much your rate goes up depends on several factors, like the claim type and amount, your insurance company, your claims history, your location, and whether or not you have accident forgiveness.

The most significant factors affecting how much your rates go up after an accident are the claim type and amount. Accidents that you cause will raise your premium the most, especially if the damages are over $2,000. Although prices don't jump as much when you're not at-fault or the incident was beyond your control, you'll probably still see a rate increase.

How much filing a claim increases car insurance rates:

Claim Type	Average Rate Increase
Bodily Injury, At-Fault	32%
Property Damage, At-Fault (over $2,000)	31%
Property Damage, At-Fault(under $2,000)	26%
Comprehensive (over $2,000)	3%
Comprehensive (under $2,000)	3%

It may seem unfair, but insurance companies are within their rights to raise your rates after a claim, even if the accident was not your fault. Insurers charge based on risk, and statistics show that you're more likely to make additional claims if you've recently filed one.

Some insurance companies charge more than others after not-at-fault accidents, though. Progressive charges the most, raising rates by more than 16% on average. State Farm, on the other hand, doesn't increase prices if their customer is not at fault.

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