As a homeowner, filing an abundance of insurance claims can negatively affect your homeowner's policy. When you file a claim, it will stay on record so that insurance companies can evaluate you and your house for insurance coverage in the future. Your information is kept in a large insurance database.
Insurance Database
Homeowner's insurance companies use a database to keep track of you and your claim history. This database is used by many insurance companies as a way to share information with one another. The database is known as CLUE, or the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, and it is maintained by a company called ChoicePoint. When you file a claim or report any damage information to your insurance company, it will typically be reported to the CLUE database.
CLUE Information
Insurance companies use the CLUE database as a way to keep large amounts of information about customers. The most common are insurance claims. However, insurance companies can also use the database to keep track of damage reports. For example, if you call your insurance company just to tell it that something was damaged, but you do not file a claim, this information can be included in the database.
Time Frame
Once information goes into the database, it does not stay there forever. According to MSN, the information in the database is removed after five years. This means that if you file a homeowner's insurance claim, other insurance companies will potentially know about it for the next five years. If your insurance company drops your coverage after a claim, it may be hard to qualify for other insurance policies during this five-year window.
Insurance Company Records
Although the CLUE database is the method of choice for insurance companies to communicate with one another and track claims, individual insurance companies may also keep their own databases. Your own homeowner's insurance company will most likely keep track of the claim in its database. Insurance companies do not release information about how long claim data is kept in their own internal databases. After several years, the claim will most likely be disregarded when calculating your premium.