Homeowners insurance claims typically stay on a national property claim database called the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) for five to seven years. Every time you file a claim, your insurance company reports the case to either CLUE or A-PLUS (Automated Property Loss Underwriting System), the other major claims database.
As you probably know, your claims history matters when you switch insurance companies or take out a new policy. Every insurer will scope out your recent claims history to help price your policy.
Homeowners insurance claims usually stay on your record for five to seven years.
The more claims you have on your record, the harder it may be to find affordable, reliable coverage. That’s because many insurance companies raise rates or limit coverage if your home has a history of recent losses.
Your insurance company may also refuse to renew your policy after a spate of claims.
That’s why it’s wise to use caution before you file a claim – you don’t want to inadvertently file a lot of small claims that drive up your policy cost or make you uninsurable in the future. In general, try to only file a claim when it’s at least two to three times higher than your deductible.
It’s also smart to take steps to prevent claims from happening. In fact, many companies offer discounts for some risk management measures.
Some claims impact your rates more than others. The following types of claims have the most impact on your premium or coverage eligibility because homeowners can usually take some steps to reduce the chance of these losses:
The following claims (also called catastrophic claims) may have less of an impact on your coverage eligibility. That’s because these claims are weather dependent, and insurance companies acknowledge homeowners can’t control the weather:
Generally, if you haven’t filed more than one non-catastrophic loss claim in three years, and have no liability losses in three years, you may still be eligible for coverage.
Two claims in five years may drive up the cost of your coverage. More than two claims in a five-year period may make it difficult to find coverage.
Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can request one free copy of your loss history report from CLUE per year. In addition to your name, home address, and Social Security number, the report includes:
Worth noting: your CLUE report is tied to your home’s address. So even if you haven’t filed a claim, the previous owner’s claims may appear on the home’s loss history. That’s why it’s important to ask for this report before you purchase a home.
You can also request your property loss report from A-PLUS, which does charge for the report unless an insurer turned you down because of A-PLUS data.
That’s true for CLUE, too – any time an insurer refuses to insure your home because of its report, you can get a free copy of it.
So let’s say you think your claims report might have an error. You can take two routes to dispute your CLUE report:
For either option, your first step is to contact LexisNexis.
If you want to submit an explanation, prepare a statement about the loss in 100 words or fewer to include in future reports. The report will be updated with your statement within 30 days.
For a dispute, you’ll need to include:
LexisNexis will reach out to your insurance company to verify your account. If the insurance company rejects your dispute, the loss will remain on your record.
To learn more about claims, visit our Claims Center.
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