Claims history and home insurance: the CLUE report, and why past claims follow the house

What insurers can actually see

When you ask for a home insurance quote, the insurer isn't relying only on what you tell them. Claims data is shared across the industry through a database called CLUE — the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, operated by LexisNexis.

A CLUE report typically holds up to seven years of claims history and, for each claim, records the date, the type of loss, the amount paid and the status. Insurers contribute their claims data to it and draw on it when underwriting.

This is why the claims question on a quote form isn't really a test of your memory. The insurer will see the record either way. What the question tests is whether your account matches it — and a mismatch is a much bigger problem than a claim.

Claims follow the property, not just you

This is the part that surprises people most, and it catches recent buyers in particular.

CLUE holds two kinds of report: one tied to an individual, and one tied to an address. If the previous owner of your home filed two water damage claims before you bought it, those claims are attached to the property. They can affect the quotes you're offered on a house you've owned for six months.

There's a practical implication when buying. A seller can request the CLUE report for their own property, and asking for it during the purchase process tells you both the claims history and something about problems the house may have had. A record of repeated water losses in the same room is worth knowing before exchange, not after.

Which claims matter most

Not all claims are read the same way. Underwriters are trying to predict future losses, so what they care about is what a past claim suggests about the next one.

Frequency usually beats severity

A single large claim from a one-off event is often viewed more favourably than several small ones. Two or three claims in a few years suggests a pattern — either a property with an unresolved problem or a household that claims readily. Either reading makes an underwriter cautious.

Water damage is the one to watch

Water claims attract more attention than almost any other category. The reasoning is that water damage frequently recurs — the same failed supply line, the same drainage problem — and that it carries mould risk, which is expensive and often excluded, creating disputes.

A single water claim is rarely fatal to your options. Two can materially narrow them.

Weather claims are often read differently

A claim from a named storm or a regional hail event is usually understood as something that happened to you rather than something about your house. Insurers frequently distinguish catastrophe claims from what the industry calls attritional losses — the everyday ones. It doesn't mean weather claims are ignored, but they generally carry less weight than a repeated plumbing failure.

Liability claims raise a different question

A dog bite or an injury on your property points to an ongoing exposure rather than a fixed defect. Those tend to prompt questions about whether the cause still exists — which is why they often sit alongside questions about pets and pools.

Should you file a claim at all?

For smaller losses this is a real decision, and it's worth thinking through before you pick up the phone. We can't tell you what to do — that depends on your policy and your circumstances — but these are the factors that go into it.

• The size of the loss against your deductible. If the repair is close to your deductible, the payout may be small or nil.
• The effect on renewal pricing, and how long that effect lasts. A claim can influence your premium for years, not one term.
• Any claims-free or loss-free credit you currently hold, which a claim may remove.
• Whether this would be your second or third claim in a short window, which matters disproportionately.
• Whether the damage might worsen. A problem you pay for privately today can become a larger claim later, and an insurer may ask why it wasn't addressed.
• Whether the loss involves liability. If someone else was injured, that is not a decision to handle privately — tell your insurer.

One thing worth knowing: in some circumstances a call to your insurer that doesn't result in a payment can still be recorded as an inquiry or a zero-paid claim. Practice varies between insurers and some states restrict how such records can be used. If you're only exploring options, it's reasonable to ask whether the conversation will be logged before you give the details.

How to check your own record

A CLUE report is a consumer report, which means the same framework that governs credit reports applies. In practical terms you have two useful rights.

1. 1You can request your own report free once every twelve months, directly from LexisNexis. You can request the report for a property you own as well as your personal report.
2. 2You can dispute entries you believe are inaccurate. If a claim is recorded that you never filed, or an amount is wrong, or a claim appears that was withdrawn, you can ask for it to be investigated and corrected.

It's worth doing before you shop rather than after you're declined. If there's an error on the report, finding out at the point of quotation means arguing about it under time pressure. Finding out in advance means fixing it first.

You are also entitled to an explanation if an insurer takes adverse action — declining, non-renewing or charging more — based on information in a consumer report. That notice should tell you which report was used, which gives you a starting point.

Shopping with claims on your record

1. 1Pull your CLUE report first so you know what insurers will see, and check it for errors.
2. 2Answer the claims question accurately, including claims on the property from before you owned it if you know about them. The record is checkable and a discrepancy costs you more than the claim does.
3. 3Note the window the question asks about. Some insurers ask about three years, some five — our form asks five, which is the more common standard among buyers.
4. 4Document what was fixed. A claim with evidence of a permanent repair reads very differently from a claim with no follow-up.
5. 5Compare widely. Tolerance for claims history varies considerably, and one decline is not a market verdict.
6. 6Ask about deductible options. A higher deductible can change how an insurer views a household with claims history, because it removes the smallest claims from the equation.

Common questions