As referenced in my column published in the Dallas
Morning News on Thursday, June 27, 2002, Big Brother's
alive and well in virtually every neighborhood in America.
To their defense, I really can't blame insurance companies for
wanting to reduce their exposure to potential claims. You wouldn't
buy a used car [or a new one for that matter] if you knew going in
that it was a lemon. Same thing goes for the property-and-casualty
insurers of the world; they've gotten slammed with some major claims
for damages cause by mold.
To be perfectly blunt:
Their problems and losses would have been much smaller if they
hadn't engaged in their predictable game of claim payment avoidance
and really ticked some folks off that got in the last word in a
civil courtroom. But I digress.
If you're buying
a home...and before
you sign a contract and put any money at risk...
You'd better make sure that you've
done the same background check on that home that your insurance
company will.
Have the Seller of the property
you're considering purchasing obtain a copy of the C.L.U.E.
Personal Property Insurance Report
and give you/your Agent/your attorney a copy of the report to
examine prior to either putting any money at risk, or to make any
contracts you have pending actually "go live" and your
money then "at risk" assuming a clear report comes back.
Q:
Can you order a report on a property you're thinking about buying,
ahead of time and on your own?
A:
If you wanna blow 10 bucks, then go do it. I'm tellin' you, it's
public domain info [at least in Texas, anyway] that you can get for
free by going to the website of the county tax assessor/collector
for that county. California's a lot stingier with this info; privacy
issues prevail and make it a lot more difficult to readily access
this info for free, especially in that particular state. Search
for your particular/specific county using my search engine of
choice: www.google.com
Q:
Hey wait a second! I've been on their website and see them
offering a report on properties for $9.95 each. In fact on a page
headlined Empowering Consumers Responsibly they've
got a little sale c'mon that says: "Your Home: Informed
consumers research homes online before buying. Shouldn't
you?"
On the following page it says: "If
you're in the market for a new home, you've come to the right
place. Research property value, home features and more."
Can't I just click on this and get the information about the
property's history I'm searching for?
A:
If you wanna blow 10 bucks, then go do it. I'm tellin' you, it's
public domain info [at least in Texas, anyway] that you can get
for free by going to the website of the county tax
assessor/collector for that county. California's a lot stingier
with this info; privacy issues prevail and make it a lot more
difficult to readily access this info for free, especially in that
particular state. Tarrant County properties can be found at www.tad.org
for example; Dallas County at www.dallascad.org.
Search for other counties using my search engine of choice: www.google.com
Q:
How much will one of these CLUE reports gonna cost?
A:
For properties located in Texas, California and Colorado (and most
states for that matter) plan on spending $8 a pop. Again, there
similarities between these reports and the reporting processes are
almost identical to the heartburn of the consumer credit reporting
world.
Q: Wanna
free report?
A:
Good news! Just like the consumer credit reporting world...you're
entitled to a free copy
of your C.L.U.E. Personal Property Report if:
- Insurance has been denied
- Insurance rates have been increased
- Insurance has been canceled
- Coverage has been limited
Q:
What happens in the information
contained in your CLUE report is wrong?
A:
Oh boy...this sure feels like the same brain-damage all of us have
been victimized by over the years by the credit reporting bureaus.
And it should...why? Because...surprise!
ChoicePoint a/k/a ChoiceTrust appears to be spun-off by of our
friends at Equifax, one of the three major credit reporting
bureaus in the nation. And the process of disputing incorrect
information on one of these CLUE reports is covered by the same
laws as our credit reports: The Fair Credit Reporting Act. Which
means we're in deep doo-doo. Disputing and succeeding in getting
erroneous information off of consumer credit reports is a major
case of heartburn just waiting to happen.
Q:
But how do I actually get these clowns to take the stuff off of my
report if it's wrong?
A:
Just like the process for disputing information on a consumer
credit report, the reporting agency/entity in this case [CLUE]
depends on the original company that reported this information to
authorize the deletion of negative information.
So instead of Equifax
or Experian asking Visa or MasterCard about some
negative information they're reporting on your credit files, now
you get to go fight with whatever insurance company is reporting
this negative information. Or course CLUE simply throws their
hands up in the air and says [this should sound equally familiar]:
"All we're doing is reporting the information being sent to
us by the insurance companies! It's not our fault!"
Yeah...you betcha.
Q: Who
do I contact to dispute this info?
A:
According to ChoicePoint's website, they'll "ask you
for your C.L.U.E. reference number, or a consumer number, the name
of the insurance company and the date of the claim. And like a
consumer credit report disputation, a brief explanation of the
facts as you know them pertaining to the challenged
information." Here's their contact info, (as of
January 23, 2003, anyway):
ChoicePoint Insurance Consumer Center
PO Box 105108
Atlanta, GA 30348-5108
(888) 497-0011
[M-F, 8a-7p ET]
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