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Most people are well aware of the importance of their credit score and how it can impact one’s ability to open a credit card, take out a loan and any other number of things. But did you know that there is a similar score that determines your home insurance and auto insurance quotes? The Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, better known by the acronym CLUE, is a database kept by the national insurance industry. Claims made in the past five years are recorded, and include everything from fires to floods to mold. The CLUE report also records the amount of money paid out for each loss. With over 40 million claims filed, CLUE is a big deal.

There are two main types of CLUE reports: Personal Property reports, which involve the history of losses, related to one’s home and all possessions other than cars, and auto reports that contain the history of one’s auto losses.

It is important to stay informed on CLUE and your insurance claims, as they can have a huge impact on your home and auto insurance quotes. Here are some things you should know about CLUE.

According to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB), financial institutions are required to send annual reports explaining the means with which they collect and share personal information with other institutions. Insurance companies are included, which means that they must let you know how they share information with affiliated and non-affiliated organizations. They are not, however, required to inform that information is shared with the CLUE database. As such, other financial institutions can influence a CLUE score. For example, a low credit score can negatively impact a CLUE report.

CLUE reports can be viewed annually for free, as with credit reports. It is important to stay on top of these reports, so that you will notice if incorrect claims are filed under your name. Since the CLUE report impacts insurance premiums, an accurate report will keep you from paying higher premiums based on faulty information. If you find errors on your report, you can have them corrected by contacting Choice Point. The organization will request evidence of claims made with a particular insurance company. If the insurance company does not provide evidence, the claim will be deleted off your report.

Inquiries and claims are not always distinguished in CLUE reports. Discussing a loss with an insurance company may be considered a claim, even if compensation is not provided. It is important to clearly state that you are making an inquiry and not filing a claim when requesting basic information from a representative. Otherwise, the insurer may mistake the inquiry for a filed claim that did not meet requirements for coverage.