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Searching for CLUEs: What Homebuyers & Sellers Need to Know About Homeowners Insurance
Homebuyers and sellers should be aware about issues involving homeowners insurance and the C.L.U.E. database. C.L.U.E. stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange and is a collection of homeowners insurance claim history enabling insurance companies to access five years worth of prior claim information to evaluate risks. The database is maintained by Choice Point Inc., a private Georgia firm, and contains over 40 million claims records on houses in all 50 states. Over 90 percent of insurers providing homeowners coverage provide data to the CLUE system. In the same way that having a bad credit record affects your ability to finance a home, negative information in the CLUE database can affect whether a purchaser can get a homeowners insurance policy and at what cost. Many homebuyers are facing the grim reality of the decreasing availability and affordability of homeowners insurance. When a homeowner applies for insurance on a property, the insurance company will usually check the CLUE database to see what claims or reports of damage are on file about the property, and may charge higher premiums or possibly decline to offer insurance coverage. Without homeowners insurance it is nearly impossible to obtain a mortgage loan and in most instances a sale will fall through. Sellers of properties who never made an insurance claim but only lived in the house for a short period of time may be unaware of potential problems because of claims made by the prior owner. Another problem arises with "zero-dollar" claims which refers to things that did not result in a loss for the insurer being listed as a claim in the CLUE database, such as a homeowner calling the insurance company about possibly filing a claim, even if the claim is never filed. The National Association of Realtors® believes that home sellers, buyers, and Realtors® need more education about CLUE. Homeowners and sellers may obtain the CLUE report on their property from www.choicetrust.com for $12.95. It is important that sellers review this report carefully to correct any inaccuracies which may inhibit a new owner from obtaining homeowners coverage. For buyers, it is critical to find out the claims history of a property before purchase by requesting a copy of the CLUE report from the seller in a contingency clause in the contract. Getting a C.L.U.E. report as soon as possible during a real estate transaction will help ensure that buyers and sellers do not receive unpleasant surprises at the last moment causing unneeded stress and delays and possibly causing a sale to collapse. Brian Block is a Realtor with Re/Max Allegiance in Alexandria, Virginia. He is also a real estate attorney. He can be contacted at 703-626-0715. If you or anyone you know has real estate questions or is looking to buy or sell real estate in the Northern Virginia and Metropolitan D.C. area, contact Brian Block. For more information and to start your home search, visit his website at http://www.brianblock.com
MORE RESOURCES: Nantucket’s Workers Are Living on the Margins The New York Times Russian Demand for U.S. Real Estate Surges 78.5% The Moscow Times What renters really want | Real Estate Newsletter Inquirer.com WA real estate firm fired woman for reporting harassment, lawsuit says The Seattle Times NYC Real-Estate Execs Throw Money Behind Adams to Counter Rise of Mamdani The Wall Street Journal Commercial real estate update: As big box brands buckle, the three A's can save the day Tallahassee Democrat Real estate investors are purchasing more U.S. homes as high prices lock out would-be buyers CBS News A tale of two Floridas: Real estate industry torn over DeSantis' push to eliminate property taxes Fox Business Luxury Real Estate Company Unveils ‘Flathead Lake Club’ Proposal in Lakeside at First Public Hearing Flathead Beacon Banner Real Estate Group breaks ground on The Faywell multifamily community in downtown Wheaton Chicago Agent Magazine ‘It’s all looking great’ for the M’s of M2 Property Group in Texas Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com DDN: Judgment filed in Wright State’s real estate arm case Wright State University ‘Ongoing stagnation’: Real estate fundraising stays muted in H1 Private Equity Real Estate | PERE Milestone Real Estate owner realizes dream with Downtown Fresno office thebusinessjournal.com News of public record: Coshocton County real estate transfers Coshocton Tribune The Link Between U.S. Immigration Changes and Real Estate Opportunities in the Philippines Asian Journal News Top Manitowoc real estate sale was $2.2 million for week of June 30-July 2 Herald Times Reporter Berkshire region real estate sales – July 11, 2025 The Berkshire Edge Lee & James Real Estate Photography Launches Back-to-School Special for Portland Area Realtors Akron Beacon Journal Hybrid ‘buyer agent’ blends AI with the human touch Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com Real Estate: June 2025 Coronado Market Update Coronado Times Amazon has profoundly changed Polk's industrial market The Business Journals Staten Island real estate 2025: Housing inventory plummets as prices climb, report says - SILive.com Real Estate Minute – 07-10-2025 Texomashomepage.com Current Real Estate Roundup - July 10, 2025 Nantucket Current ARX Launches First PPE Brand Designed Specifically for Women, Redefining Safety on the Jobsite Boston Real Estate Times As Sovereign Debt Loses Its Luster, Economist Sees Investors Turning to Real Estate and Other Hard Assets Urban Land Magazine $400 Million Family Lawsuit Involving Prominent Fullerton Real Estate Figures Part 2 Fullerton Observer Saudi Arabia Enacts New Real Estate Foreign Ownership Law: A Calibrated Opening for Foreign Investors The National Law Review Video tour of a waterfront Jupiter Island estate that sold in June for $18 million Treasure Coast News Is private real estate underestimating risk for US life sciences? Private Equity Real Estate | PERE Leading Index for Commercial Real Estate Increased 7% in June Calculated Risk Signs of Recovery: Boston Lab Market Shows Momentum in Q2: JLL Report Boston Real Estate Times What's the most expensive property sold in Rhode Island? July 11 real estate transactions The Providence Journal Department of Taxation and Finance dos.ny.gov Mom, I’m Going Into Real Estate The Jewish Link Guest view: The renaissance of necessity retail real estate IPE Real Assets Real Estate Roundup: YKK Sells Anaheim Building for $39 Million Orange County Business Journal Providence Hill Real Estate owners buy office building near Tuckahoe HQ Richmond BizSense Mayer Brown Adds Gabe Steffens as Real Estate Partner in LA Bloomberg Law News As Californians Fought Corporate Landlords, YIMBY Action Partied with Big Real Estate’s Cash CityWatch LA Real estate boss targeted in San Francisco with smear campaign The San Francisco Standard CNBC is expanding its real estate coverage Talking Biz News Real estate CEO warns of growing ‘exodus’ as people have ‘given up’ on California — but where are they going? Yahoo Finance Where are home prices falling most in America? This SWFL community made top of the list Naples Daily News Lancaster County hits new real estate record LancasterOnline Report: 7 of 12 Luzerne County school districts increased real estate taxes for 2025-26 The Sunday Dispatch Confusing housing stats & real estate nerds Sacramento Appraisal Blog Report: Leasing lags, but Dayton bets big on defense and development The Business Journals Fetner, MCB Real Estate, Farallon Capital Buy 240 Willoughby Street for $210M Commercial Observer How Egypt's Capital is Becoming the Epicenter of Real Estate Transformation in the Region Entrepreneur |
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