How To Check Your Car Insurance Claim History
Your car insurance claim history is a record of every claim that has been filed — either by you or against you — and it follows you from insurer to insurer. Understanding where that record lives, who can access it, and what it contains is useful whether you're shopping for new coverage, disputing a rate increase, or trying to understand how a past accident is affecting your current policy.
Where Your Claim History Is Stored
Most auto insurance claim history in the United States is stored in a centralized database called the CLUE report — short for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. This database is maintained by LexisNexis and is used by most major insurers when they underwrite new policies or renew existing ones.
A CLUE report typically contains:
- Claims filed on your vehicles over the past 7 years
- The date of each loss
- The type of claim (collision, comprehensive, liability, etc.)
- The amount paid out
- Whether the claim was opened but closed without payment
A separate but similar report called A-PLUS (Automated Property Loss Underwriting System), maintained by Verisk, is used by some insurers and covers similar information.
Your driving record — maintained by your state's DMV — is a separate document. It tracks traffic violations, license suspensions, and at-fault accidents as reported by insurers, but it is not the same as your CLUE report.
How To Request Your CLUE Report
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you are entitled to one free copy of your CLUE report every 12 months. You can request it directly from LexisNexis at their consumer disclosure center. The process typically involves verifying your identity online, by phone, or by mail.
Once you receive the report, review it carefully for:
- Accuracy — Claims listed that don't belong to you
- Completeness — Whether claims you know about are reflected correctly
- Closed claims with no payment — These can still appear and affect how insurers view your history
If you find an error, the FCRA gives you the right to dispute it. LexisNexis is required to investigate and correct inaccurate entries.
What Your Insurer Can Tell You Directly
You don't always need a formal CLUE report to check your history. Your current insurer likely has a record of every claim you've filed with them. You can:
- Log into your online account or mobile app — many insurers display claim history there
- Call your insurer's customer service line and ask for a summary of filed claims
- Review past Explanation of Benefits (EOB) or claim settlement documents you may have received
Keep in mind that your insurer only sees claims filed through them. Claims filed with a previous insurer won't appear in your account — but they will appear on your CLUE report.
📋 What Can Appear on a Claim Record (and What Doesn't)
| Item | Appears on CLUE Report | Appears on DMV Record |
|---|---|---|
| At-fault collision claim | ✅ Yes | Often yes, if reported |
| Comprehensive claim (theft, weather) | ✅ Yes | Generally no |
| Claim filed but no payment made | ✅ Yes | Generally no |
| Traffic violations | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| DUI/DWI | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Uninsured motorist accident | Depends | Depends on state |
How Claim History Affects Your Coverage and Rates
Insurers use your claim history as one factor when calculating premiums. A history with multiple claims — especially at-fault accidents — can lead to higher rates at renewal or when switching carriers.
Variables that affect how much weight insurers place on your history:
- State regulations — Some states limit how far back insurers can look or restrict how certain claim types are used in pricing
- Fault determination — At-fault claims typically carry more weight than comprehensive claims (hail damage, theft), which are considered outside your control
- Claim frequency — Multiple claims in a short period tend to raise more concern than a single older claim
- Claim amount — Large payouts may be weighted differently than minor ones
- Your insurer's underwriting guidelines — These vary by company and are not publicly disclosed
Some states have passed laws limiting how certain non-fault claims affect your rates. Whether that applies to your situation depends on your state's insurance regulations and your specific insurer's policies.
Third-Party Claims and What You Can Access
If someone filed a claim against you — meaning they went through their own insurer or yours to recover for damage you allegedly caused — that claim may appear on your CLUE report as well, depending on how it was handled.
Third-party claimants generally cannot access the CLUE report of the other driver. However, if you were the one whose insurer paid out on a claim, that payment will likely appear on your record.
What's Not in Any Report
Some things that affect your insurance situation are not captured in claim databases:
- Accidents you were involved in where no claim was filed
- Incidents reported to police but not to any insurer
- Medical claims processed entirely through health insurance with no auto insurer involvement
- Claims in other countries
The picture these reports provide is useful — but it reflects what was reported and paid through insurance channels, not every accident that has ever occurred.
The Part That Depends on Your Situation
How your claim history affects your specific policy, rates, or coverage eligibility depends on your state's insurance regulations, your insurer's internal guidelines, the types of claims on your record, how fault was assigned, and how long ago the incidents occurred. Two drivers with similar records can face very different outcomes depending on where they live and which insurer they're dealing with. The reports themselves are standardized — what insurers do with them is not.
