Does Clue Include Denied Claims?
Usually yes. A CLUE report typically lists claims you filed, even ones denied or paid nothing.
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A denied claim still shows up
A CLUE report pulls from what was filed, not what was paid. If you called about a roof leak and the insurer denied it or sent nothing, that inquiry is likely still on the report with the date, the type of loss, and the amount claimed, even though the amount paid was zero. This matters for your renewal because some insurers price on claim frequency, not just claim payouts. Two inquiries in five years can read as risk even if neither cost the insurer anything. If your price jumped with no payout and nothing changed on the house, a denied or withdrawn claim on your CLUE report is worth checking first. You can request your own report and see exactly what's listed before deciding whether to compare other insurers.
A denied claim can still cost you
If your CLUE report shows an inquiry that paid nothing, one insurer's renewal price isn't the only number that matters. Other insurers weigh that same history differently, and some won't price it at all.
What shows up on a CLUE report and what doesn't
A CLUE report covers the last seven years and generally includes the date of loss, the type of loss, the amount paid, and the insurer involved. It does not include a credit score, your payment history, or why a claim was denied. So if you see an entry for that roof leak, the report shows that you called and what was claimed, but not the insurer's reasoning for paying nothing. That detail lives in the claim file, not the CLUE report.
Not every call to an insurer turns into a CLUE entry. Asking a general question about coverage, or asking what a repair might cost without filing, usually doesn't get logged. What typically triggers an entry is an actual claim number being opened, even if the insurer later closes it without paying. If you're not sure whether something you said to an adjuster became a filed claim, the CLUE report is the way to check, not memory of the phone call.
Errors happen on these reports more often than people expect. A claim can be listed twice if it was transferred between adjusters, or listed under the wrong type of loss, like water damage instead of a plumbing failure, which can read as more serious to an underwriter. The report comes from a company called LexisNexis, separate from any insurer, and it has a dispute process if something listed is wrong or shouldn't be there. Fixing an inaccurate entry can matter more to your price than anything else on the policy.
The report follows the house as well as the person in some cases, which matters if you bought a home recently. A previous owner's claims history can sometimes still show up tied to the address, separate from your own filed claims. If your renewal jumped and you've owned the house only a short time, it's worth checking whether the report reflects your history or carries something from before you owned it.
Who can see your CLUE report and how to get a copy
Insurers that pull a CLUE report on you get access when you apply for a policy or when you renew, which is standard practice and not something you can opt out of if you want coverage. Landlords and property managers cannot pull it. Neither can a buyer looking at your house before closing. The report is tied to the person and sometimes the address, and only insurers requesting it for underwriting have a reason to see it.
You are entitled to your own copy under federal law, the same way you can request a credit report. One free copy is available every twelve months, and you can request more if something changes, like a denied claim you want to check before your next renewal. The request goes through LexisNexis directly, not through any insurer, since they maintain the database that CLUE reports pull from.
The report usually arrives within a few days of requesting it online, or a little longer by mail. It lists every entry tied to your name or the address for the past seven years, with the type of loss, the date, and the amount paid for each one. If you've never requested yours, it's worth doing even without a specific reason, since it shows you exactly what an underwriter sees before your next renewal lands in the mailbox.
If you find an entry that's wrong, listed twice, or tied to a previous owner, the dispute goes to LexisNexis, not to your insurance company. They investigate and correct the file if the entry doesn't hold up, which can take a few weeks. Clearing a bad entry before you're shopping for a new policy means the next insurer's price reflects your actual history instead of an error.
Before your next renewal
Request your CLUE report and check it against what you remember filing. If an entry is wrong, duplicated, or left over from a previous owner, dispute it with LexisNexis before comparing other insurers.
