Are you clueless about your CLUE report? Find out how insurers use it to set your rates. Get the Money Girl book at http://MoneyGirlBook.com
Money Girl
334 MG How Your CLUE Report Affects Insurance Quotes
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Before we get started, I want to invite you to an upcoming webinar that I'll be teaching called Understanding Financial Statements, a step-by-step tutorial. You'll learn how to read and understand financial statements, which is an easy skill that can help you run your own business or advance your career. To sign up, visit the Money Girl page at quickanddirtytips.com and get it on your calendar. If you're a regular Money Girl reader or podcast listener, you already know that you have a credit report that shows how you handle all your credit accounts. But if you're like most consumers, you've probably never heard of your "clue" report. While it sounds like something used by a private investigator, it actually plays a critical role in how much you have to pay for insurance. In this episode, I'll take the mystery out of these little-known "clue" reports by telling you what they are, why insurers use them, and how to keep yours clean so you pay less for insurance. So what exactly are these "clue" reports? Well, "clue" is short for comprehensive, loss, underwriting exchange, which is the most commonly used database of insurance claims in the industry. There's one report for home insurance claims, and another for your auto claims, all that were filed in the past seven years. The reports also include general information about you, such as your name, gender, birthdate, and address. These companies that contribute information to the "clue" database are allowed to use it to investigate your claim's history and factor in the information to set your rate. For instance, let's say you apply for auto insurance with a new company. If they see you made several claims over the past few years with your previous company, they may view you as a high risk for filing more claims and charge you a higher premium. How much more do you have to pay? Well, each insurer weighs information on your "clue" report differently. However, a study by Insurancequotes.com shows that even filing one home insurance claim can raise your rate 21%, depending on where you live. I'll include a link to this study in the transcript for this show that includes a state-by-state comparison so you can see how your state stacks up. Your "clue" report includes detailed information about your claims, such as the insurance company, the claim date, your policy number, claim number, cause of loss, and the amounts paid. But surprisingly, in some states, your "clue" report may also include calls you make to an insurance representative to ask about a loss, no matter if a formal claim was filed or any compensation paid out. Therefore, be certain that you really want to file a claim before telling your insurance company that your property has been damaged. If you're only calling to ask general questions about policy coverage, be clear that you do not want to open a claim. If you're wondering what's on your "clue" report, you have the right to take a look. You can get a free copy every 12 months, just like with your credit reports. And you can also file a dispute to have any errors on your "clue" report corrected. But unlike your credit, your "clue" report doesn't translate into any kind of a score. That's simply a summary of all previous claims that have been made on your property. Now that we're in Q4, it's a good time to start thinking about making memories with the people you love most before the end of the year. We put a lot into the time we spend with our loved ones. So you want to extend that care, comfort, and peace of mind to what happens when you're gone. 41% of people don't have the life insurance coverage they need. Policy genius makes finding and buying life insurance a breeze. With Policy Genius, you can find life insurance policies at start at just $292 a year for a million dollars of coverage. And some options are 100% online and let you avoid unnecessary medical exams. Policy Genius combines digital tools with the experience of real, licensed agents. You can compare quotes from America's top insurers side by side for free with no hidden fees. They have an amazing licensed support team that helps you get what you need fast so you can get on with your life. They answer questions, handle paperwork, and advocate for you throughout the process. Policy Genius is the country's leading online insurance marketplace. And even if you already have life insurance through work, remember, it may not protect all your family's needs or follow you if you leave your job. So save money and time on providing a financial safety net for your family. Head to PolicyGenius.com or click the link in the description to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you can save. That's PolicyGenius.com. We could try to explain what it feels like to get your work done on a John Deere. 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Their videos, lessons, sample problems, and learning games too. One subscription to IXL gets you all subjects and all grade levels. Membership started just $9.95 a month. It's no wonder IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts. I think the positive feedback that IXL gives is really crucial when it comes to learning. So make an impact on your child's learning, get IXL now, and money girl listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com/moneygirl. That's at ixl.com/moneygirl to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. A frequent question about clue reports is whether you can pull one for a home that you're considering buying. It's a smart idea to know the claims history of a property before you buy it so you eliminate any surprises. If a home has a frequent loss history, even by previous owners, that could increase the amount of insurance that you'll have to pay even if you've never filed a home claim. Rates may rise depending on the type, age, and amount of losses. But there's a catch. You can only get a clue report on property that you own. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, only an insurer, owner, or lender for a property can access its claims history. Therefore, you or your real estate professional would have to ask the seller of a home you're interested in to request the report for you. The only way to keep your clue report from causing your home or car insurance rates to rise is not to file claims if you can help it. You should always think twice about filing small claims. Paying for relatively inexpensive repairs out of pocket may end up saving you more money in the long run than having your rate hiked for years to come. Another strategy to save money on insurance and to discipline yourself from making smaller claims is to raise your deductible. This is the amount that you have to pay before your insurance benefits begin. The higher your deductible, the lower your premiums will be. If you want to request a free copy of your clue report, you'll find a link to get it in the transcript for this show. Just visit the MoneyGirl page at quickanddirtytips.com and look for episode number 334 called How Your Clue Report Effects Insurance Quotes. I'm glad you're listening to Ching. That's all for now, courtesy of MoneyGirl, your guide to a richer life. At Credit Union of Colorado, banking doesn't have to be like this. Big National Banker here to let you know we are increasing fees. Again, now some people will say they are hidden fees and if I had my choice, I'd hide them. But I guess that's not legal. So for now, please reference line 572 on page 36 for all new fees this month. At Credit Union of Colorado, we have better interest rates, seamless mobile banking and no hidden fees ever. Credit Union of Colorado, honestly good. Learn more at honestlygood.org federally insured by NCUA. 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