Author: VU Faculty

CLUE reports, like MVRs, have become a staple of most personal lines underwriters. However, what happens when someone discovers an error on a CLUE report? What are the ramifications for declining an account based on inaccurate information and what can the consumer do to get the problem corrected?

"I pulled the required Choicepoint C.L.U.E. report on a personal lines insured. The report contained incorrect information. I gave the phone number and address for Choicepoint to the insured. He contacted Choicepoint and they indicated there was nothing that could be done about the incorrect information because the incorrect information is not credit related.

"It shows vehicles that he does not/has never owned and paid claims that are not his. I have insured him for five years and I know two of the claims are not correct. His MVR does not reflect any accidents. How does insured/consumer proceed to have this incorrect information removed from his record. Thanks for any advice."

Your insured was misinformed. Not only can he have this information corrected, they are required by law to correct it if it is inaccurate. Below are some suggestions from our faculty that might be helpful in getting this resolved.

1. If the insurer is going to take any "adverse action" (not write, up-rate, nonrenew, cancel, etc.), they owe the insured a "notice of adverse action." This will give the insured the source of the information, with contact information.

2. ChoicePoint does not maintain the information...they are a conduit between credit bureaus and other sources who provide "consumer reports," which include credit scores, insurance scores, MVRs, CLUE, bankruptcy, judgments, etc. However, on ChoicePoint's website they say that THEY are responsible for coordinating corrections - and they give a phone number.

3. CLUE reports are governed by the FCRA. According to the FTC document "Appendix B - Notice of Furnishers of Information: Obligations of Furnishers Under the FCRA," furnishers of incorrect information must respond to a consumer complaint within 30 days.

4. According to FTC document "Appendix C - Notice to Users of Consumer Reports: Obligations of Users Under the FCRA," Section I.C. (parts 1 and 2), users must provide the consumer with a notice of adverse action, and the source of the information on which the adverse action action is obtained.

5. If the consumer is owed a notice of adverse action, it should contain the necessary contact information. Also, consumer is owed a copy of "Appendix A - Summary of Consumer Rights."


It takes documentation. Lots of it. When we had the problem in our agency we were generally able to handle it with underwriting in whatever company we were dealing with. I don't recall that we ever had much luck getting changes made through Equifax or Choicepoint.

One of the most common problems occurred when an insured was the second or subsequent owner of a vehicle and the prior owner had an accident. Since the reports are generated in part from the VIN #, we often had to show our insured purchased the vehicle AFTER the incident occurred.

Another problem that we encountered was when an insured loaned a vehicle and the borrower had a fender bender (fixed the damage) and never told our insured thinking no one would ever find out.

Who is or is not a resident of a household also creates a problem here.

Bottom line is, you generally have to deal with the individual underwriter, explain the errors and be prepared to back it up with documentation.

Take a look at this article...I think you'll find it interesting.


You can always contact the Federal Trade Commission that administers the FCRA and file a complaint. Good luck with that.

Do you encountered this situation? If so, let us know how you helped your client resolve the problem. Email your comments to Bill.Wilson@iiaba.net and we'll post them here:

Your experience here....