Check Your Property & Auto Claims History - Free

If you own a car or a home, you probably have auto or home insurance (at least you should). I'll bet you probably buy it from your agent that you've always dealt with too. And I'll also bet that you're probably unlikely to change for fear of the unknown - not knowing if you'll get a good deal, not knowing if you will lose out for not staying with the same company forever, not knowing if that claim you made a few years ago will be held against you.

It's not really voodoo or some black magic (well, maybe a little). You just need some additional knowledge to help find out how those companies view you; how they rate you in terms of insurability and whether or not that claim you made is on your "record".

Well, like your financial credit report, insurance companies keep records on your auto and home claims. Some companies are known to record an inquiry into a possible claim as an actual claim even if you don't actually file a claim. Talk about a scam.

So what to do? Easy. You get the scoop on what they are reporting about you. Through the government's FACT Act (or Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003), you are entitled to view a copy of your 'CLUE' (or Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) report. You can read more about CLUE reports here.

There are two reports that you can get for free. Your Personal Property Report, and your Auto Report are both available once a year through a company called ChoiceTrust.com (part of ChoicePoint).

So make sure you request your free reports yearly and try to stay ahead of the game.