Ask for the CLUE Report Before You Buy a Home in Tennessee
What is a CLUE report and why should a Tennessee home buyer ask for one?
A CLUE report is a property insurance claims history, maintained by LexisNexis, showing claims filed on a specific address over roughly the past five to seven years. It tells you what has gone wrong with the house that the seller already reported to an insurer. You cannot pull it yourself, because LexisNexis releases it only to the property owner, so you have to ask the seller for it. It is free for them to request, and it is one of the most useful due diligence documents almost nobody asks for.
By Khristian Schlemmer | September 22, 2026
Your inspector tells you what the house looks like today. The seller disclosure tells you what the seller knows about and is willing to write down.
Neither one tells you that the house had three water claims in six years.
The CLUE report does. And in a Tennessee insurance market where premiums have been climbing fast enough that buyers are budgeting for it separately, a claims history is not a curiosity. It affects what you will pay, and sometimes whether a carrier will write the policy at all.
What Is Actually In It
CLUE stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. Insurers report claims into it, and they pull from it when they price a policy. A property report typically covers the last five to seven years and shows, for each claim:
The date it was filed
The type of loss, such as water, fire, wind, hail, theft, or liability
The amount paid out
The insurer and policy information
The status of the claim
Two details buyers consistently miss.
It follows the property, not just the person. When you buy the house, its claims history comes with it. Your carrier will see it when they quote you.
A claim can appear even if no money was paid. In some cases an inquiry or a reported-and-closed claim shows up. Insurers vary in how they weigh that, but it can still influence a quote.
Why This Matters More Right Now
Homeowners insurance in Tennessee has been getting more expensive and more selective. That shows up in three ways for a buyer.
Your premium. A house with a recent loss history quotes higher than an identical house without one. That is a permanent addition to your monthly payment through escrow, not a one-time cost.
Insurability. Multiple water claims in particular can make a home difficult to insure with a preferred carrier. If you cannot get a policy, you cannot close, because your lender requires coverage. This is the scenario worth avoiding.
What the claims tell you about the house. A single hail claim in a year when a storm went through Wilson County says almost nothing about the house. Three water claims in six years says a great deal, and it should redirect your inspection.
That last one is the real value. A CLUE report is a map of where to look.
If it shows a water loss, you now know to have your inspector spend extra time on the plumbing, the water heater, the supply lines, and the area where the loss occurred. If it shows a roof claim, you want to know whether the roof was actually replaced, by whom, and whether it was permitted. If it shows a foundation or structural claim, that is a structural engineer conversation, not an inspection one. The same logic applies to a home in a flood zone, where the claims history and the flood zone designation together tell you far more than either does alone.
How to Get It
Here is the practical part, and it is the reason most buyers never see one.
You cannot order it. LexisNexis releases a property report only to the current owner. Your agent cannot get it. Your lender cannot get it. Your inspector cannot get it.
So the path runs through the seller, and there are two ways to take it.
Ask. Your agent asks the listing agent for a copy. It is free for the seller to request, they can pull a version specifically built for this purpose, and a seller with a clean history is usually glad to hand it over because it is a selling point.
Make it a term of the offer. Write it in as a due diligence item, the same way the inspection and the disclosure are. The seller agrees to provide the claims history within a set number of days, and you get your inspection period to evaluate it.
The second is stronger, and in this market you have room to ask for it. Lebanon has been running around 58 days on the market with active inventory over 400 homes, and Greater Nashville inventory is up roughly 9 percent year over year with price reductions more common than not. Asking for a free document is not the ask that loses you a house in September 2026.
One more note. If the seller refuses without a reason, that is information too. It is not proof of anything, and plenty of sellers simply do not want the hassle. But it is worth weighing alongside everything else you know.
What to Do With What You Find
Nothing on it. Good. Get insurance quotes anyway, because the report is not the only input and you want the real number in your budget before you remove contingencies.
One weather-related claim. Usually fine, especially if it matches a known regional storm. Confirm the repair was completed properly and ask whether the roof or siding work was permitted.
A water claim. Find the source. Ask what was repaired and get documentation. Have your inspector look specifically at that area and at anything connected to it.
Multiple claims of the same type. This is the pattern that should slow you down. Recurring losses mean either an unresolved condition or a chronic one. Get quotes from a carrier before you remove your inspection contingency so you know the house is insurable at a price you can live with.
A claim that contradicts the seller disclosure. Worth a direct conversation. It may be innocent, since a claim filed by a prior owner would not be on a current seller disclosure. It may also be the most important thing you learn.
The move in every one of those cases is the same: get an actual insurance quote during your inspection period, not after. Call a local agent, give them the address and the claims history, and get a bound-able number. That converts a vague worry into a figure you can budget or negotiate around.
This is exactly the kind of document I ask for on every deal, and the number of times it has changed a client plan is higher than most buyers would guess.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a buyer get a CLUE report on a house they want to buy?
No. LexisNexis releases a property claims report only to the legal owner, so a buyer, an agent, and a lender all have to go through the seller. Ask the listing agent for it, or write it into the offer as a due diligence item the seller provides.
How far back does a CLUE report go?
A property claims history generally covers about five to seven years, depending on the report version. Sellers can request a version designed specifically to share with prospective buyers, which typically shows a five-year loss history on the property.
Does the seller have to provide a CLUE report in Tennessee?
No. Tennessee does not require it, and it is separate from the Property Condition Disclosure. That is why making it a written term of your offer is stronger than asking informally, though many sellers with a clean history provide it without being pushed.
Do prior insurance claims raise your homeowners insurance in Tennessee?
They can. Carriers price a policy partly on the property loss history, and a house with recent claims, especially repeated water losses, often quotes higher and can be harder to place with a preferred carrier. Get a real quote on the specific address during your inspection period rather than relying on a general estimate.
What should I do if the CLUE report shows a water claim?
Find out the source, confirm what was repaired, and ask for documentation. Then have your inspector look specifically at that area and at any connected systems. A resolved one-time leak is very different from a recurring one, and the paperwork is what tells them apart.
Where to Go From Here
The CLUE report is free, it takes the seller a few minutes, and it is one of the only ways to see what has actually gone wrong with a house before you own it. Almost nobody asks. In a market where buyers have this much room, that is a missed opportunity.
If you are buying in Lebanon, Mt. Juliet, Murfreesboro, or anywhere in the Greater Nashville area and want a due diligence plan that covers more than the standard inspection, reach out anytime. I am happy to walk you through what to ask for and when.
About Khristian Schlemmer
Khristian is a top-producing Middle Tennessee Realtor and founder of First Class Real Estate, serving buyers, sellers, and investors throughout the Greater Nashville area. With over $75 million in career sales and 300+ homes sold, he is known for creative marketing, strong negotiation, and delivering a true first-class client experience. Born into a family passionate about real estate investing and home building, Khristian combines local market expertise with modern marketing strategies to help clients confidently achieve their real estate goals.
Comments