It’s Wednesday! That means we are answering some of your frequently asked questions. This week’s question is “What is a CLUE report?”
CLUE or Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange is a comprehensive claims information report. It is generated by LexisNexis, a consumer reporting industry. The report generally contains up to seven years of personal claims history. CLUE also has two types of reports:
- The C.L.U.E. Personal Property report provides a seven year history of losses associated with an individual and his/her personal property. The following data will be identified for each loss: date of loss, loss type, and amount paid along with general information such as policy number, claim number and insurance company name.
- The C.L.U.E. Auto report provides a seven year history of automobile insurance losses associated with an individual. The following data will be identified for each loss: date of loss, loss type, and amount paid along with general information such as policy number, claim number and insurance company name.
What can you learn from a C.L.U.E. report?
CLUE reports can indicate if there is a current or ongoing problem especially claims that involve water damage. It also can give you information if a property has ever flooded, had storm damage, multiple thefts, multiple fires, and damage from electrical fires. All of which can raise a red flag and cause further investigating a property. But do not fear if a property has a substantial amount of claims. By investigating how a claims repairs were paid for you could discover that new piping was installed throughout the house, or a new roof was recently provided. This can be a potential money saver for a buyer because it is a expense they will not have to make incur in the near future.
Why is a C.L.U.E. report important?
It is important to buyers and sellers for different reasons. For buyers it sheds light on the history of a property before you buy. By providing this information it allows you to make an informed decision, as well as allowing you to decide if you would like to further investigate a potential problem that may be unseen to the naked eye. For sellers, it is very important to disclose any and all information about a property to a potential buyer. It can protect you legally should any future problems arise in the future, and the buyer claims they were unaware of any issues when they bought the property. All in all, knowledge is power.
Between a Home Inspection and Disclosures a C.L.U.E report is the perfect asset to compliment any information being given on a property. It is important for both Buyers and Sellers to review this report, and to further investigate any claims, should they have one on their report. A personal Property report can be obtained by the LexisNexis website for free, once a year. If you currently are in the home buying or selling process and need to obtain a report, you can click here.
