Get a CLUE

NEW YORK – Nov. 2, 2006 – You can avoid nasty surprises by encouraging your homebuyers to review a home's CLUE report, an acronym for ChoicePoint Asset Co.’s Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange history.

Based on claims information submitted by insurers to the CLUE database, the report includes dates, types of claims, and the amount paid for each claim submitted on behalf of a specific home. If the report shows no losses, a homebuyer can feel confident that no one has filed a fire, flood, windstorm or other claim against an insurer. However, if a claim has been filed, the buyer will know to take an extra-hard look at the area that was damaged.

Also, if the report shows that someone has filed a water-based insurance claim for mold, that might be reason enough to move on. A mold claim often makes it difficult for subsequent owners to obtain homeowners insurance; and if they can obtain insurance, it might be extremely expensive.

Only the homeowner can obtain these reports, so the buyer will have to ask the seller to purchase one. The report costs $19.50 and can be obtained from the ChoicePoint Web site.

Source: United Feature Syndicate, Lew Sichelman

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