Sarah Ingles, REALTOR® SRES® · Fathom Realty
Every Iowa home has an invisible claims history file that buyers, sellers, and insurance carriers can pull. It's called the CLUE report, and it determines whether a home is insurable, at what rate, and sometimes whether a sale goes through at all. Most Iowa homeowners have never heard of it. Here's what it is, how it works, and how to use it.
CLUE stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange — a database operated by LexisNexis that tracks property insurance claims for residential real estate. When you file a claim on your homeowner policy (water damage, fire, theft, liability, anything), the insurer reports it to CLUE. The claim stays on the CLUE report for 7 years.
When a new insurance carrier quotes a policy on your home, they pull the CLUE report. What they find there heavily influences the quote — or whether they'll write the policy at all.
Every Iowa home has a CLUE report. Most homeowners don't know this.
Each claim entry typically includes:
The CLUE report does NOT include:
Carriers use the CLUE report for three reasons:
1. Risk prediction. Homes with recent claims are statistically more likely to have more claims. A home with two water damage claims in the last 5 years is 3-5x more likely to have another water claim than a home with zero.
2. Underwriting decisions. Carriers have specific rules about claim history. Three or more claims in five years is often a decline criterion. Two or more water claims is often an automatic non-renewal.
3. Pricing. Even when a home is insurable, claim history drives premiums. A clean CLUE report might mean a $1,200/year policy; two recent water claims might mean the same policy costs $2,400/year.
Classic Des Moines scenario:
1. Seller lists their home 2. Buyer goes under contract 3. Inspection passes 4. Appraisal passes 5. Buyer's lender orders a homeowner insurance quote 6. Carrier pulls the CLUE report 7. Report shows 2 water claims in the last 4 years 8. Carrier declines to write the policy 9. Buyer tries 3 other carriers with the same result 10. Deal collapses at the final stage
The seller is shocked — they knew about the claims but didn't think about the CLUE implications. The buyer is frustrated — they wasted 3-4 weeks. Both lose money.
Not all claims are equally bad. Generally:
You're entitled to a free copy of your CLUE report once per year under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Request it directly from LexisNexis:
Provide your name, Social Security Number, date of birth, and current address. The report is mailed within 15 days.
Review it for accuracy. If there are errors (claims that didn't happen, claims already resolved that are marked open), you have the right to dispute them through LexisNexis.
For Des Moines sellers, pulling your own CLUE report before listing is one of the highest-value free steps you can take. If the report is clean, you're in good shape. If it shows issues, you have time to:
1. Dispute inaccurate entries before they affect a sale 2. Address open claims (complete any outstanding repairs that claims paid for) 3. Document repairs with receipts, permits, and photos 4. Price the home appropriately if the claim history affects insurability 5. Time the listing to let claims age (claims older than 5 years have much less impact)
Iowa buyers can't directly pull the CLUE report on a home they're considering — only the homeowner can do that. However, buyers can:
1. Ask the seller for a copy of their recent CLUE report (sellers can pull one free per year) 2. Include a disclosure requirement in the purchase agreement requiring the seller to disclose all insurance claims in the last 5 years 3. Get an insurance quote before waiving the inspection contingency — if the quote reveals claim issues, you still have time to renegotiate or walk 4. Ask about specific repairs for any claims the seller discloses
A few important caveats:
1. It's not a home condition report. A home can have a clean CLUE report and still have major hidden problems. CLUE only tracks claims, not conditions.
2. It's not comprehensive. Some claims never get reported to CLUE (small claims, denied claims, claims from carriers that don't participate).
3. It's not the only underwriting factor. Insurance carriers also look at the home's age, construction, location, wildfire/flood risk, and many other factors.
4. Disputes take time. If you find errors, expect a 30-60 day dispute process.
Q: What is a CLUE report on a house? A: CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) is a database operated by LexisNexis that tracks property insurance claims on residential real estate. Every claim filed on your homeowner policy is reported and stays on the CLUE report for 7 years. Insurance carriers pull CLUE reports when quoting new policies to assess risk.
Q: How do I get a CLUE report on my house? A: You can request a free CLUE report once per year directly from LexisNexis at consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com or by calling 1-866-897-8126. Only the current homeowner can request the report — buyers cannot directly access CLUE information on a home they're considering.
Q: How long do insurance claims stay on a CLUE report? A: Seven years. Claims older than 7 years automatically drop off the CLUE report and stop affecting insurance quotes. For this reason, time can be a seller's friend — a 6-year-old water claim has less impact than a 2-year-old water claim.
Q: Can a CLUE report kill a home sale? A: Yes. If a CLUE report shows claim history that causes the buyer's insurance carrier to decline writing a policy, the buyer can't get a mortgage, and the deal collapses. This is one of the most common "late-stage" deal failures in Iowa residential real estate.
Free, no-pressure consultation. Sarah responds within 24 hours.
Schedule a consultation →Or call (563) 513-8771