Most people do not know that the insurance industry is maintaining a secret file on them. I use the word 'secret' as virtually no one knows that this file exists. I learned by 'accident' (no pun intended) that such a file exists on the Paris family. Not only was there a secret file, it turns out that what is in it is costing us thousands per year!

My wife has an exemplary driving record but about two years ago was involved in a peculiar incident. I say 'incident' and not accident, because that is exactly what it was. While Ann was backing her car out of a parking space she felt a slight bump. Wondering if she might have run something over she stepped out of her car to look around. After seeing nothing but an uneven spot in the blacktop she got back in her car and drove home. Several days later she was contacted by the local police. Apparently the owner of the vehicle in the spot next to her believed they were hit and wrote down my wife's license plate number. Ann insisted she checked her car and those around her and saw no damage. The police dropped the matter, but initially asked for the name of our insurance company to include in their report - we heard nothing more about it. 

Auto Accident Data Is Kept On File By The Insurance Industry For 7 Years

Last year we noticed a spike in the cost of our auto insurance and we inquired about it. We were told that it was a 'statewide' rate increase and that everyone in Florida was affected - they added that it was due to hurricane claims. Well, that made sense, and we did have two significant hurricanes in the last three years. BUT... we just recently learned that this was not the reason our rate had spiked and we discovered that it was not across the entire state -IT WAS JUST US! While we don't know why our insurance company lied when we called, we learned about A SECRET FILE that they are keeping on us.

What Is LexisNexis?

We found out that our insurance company had paid this bogus claim. We don't know if the person that 'believed' their car was hit was just trying to take advantage of the situation or what. The amount of the damage was estimated at just $250. We were never notified that a claim was being paid or given the right to dispute it (or even just pay it directly without using our insurance). To make matters worse, we later learned that this information was reported to LexisNexis. Now that this 'accident' is in our LexisNexis file, we will face higher insurance rates for five more years regardless of what company we move to. 

A Secret File, Who Knew?

The insurance industry has a shared database of claims that are filed for auto and homeowner policies through LexisNexis. The information in this file is kept for several years. After discovering the truth about our rate increase we ordered a free copy of our report from LexisNexis. In our own case, the police did not issue a citation and yet our file shows an 'at fault' accident!  After reviewing our report we also discovered that this accident was REPORTED TWICE to LexisNexis. We are now in the process of disputing the whole matter and expecting to get at least the erroneous double reporting removed (and maybe the accident completely). 

From The LexisNexis Site

FACT Act Disclosure

The C.L.U.E. Personal Property report provides a seven year history of losses associated with an individual and his/her personal property. The following data will be identified for each loss: date of loss, loss type, and amount paid along with general information such as policy number, claim number and insurance company name.

The C.L.U.E. Auto report provides a seven year history of automobile insurance losses associated with an individual. The following data will be identified for each loss: date of loss, loss type, and amount paid along with general information such as policy number, claim number and insurance company name.

How To Dispute Information

If you have questions or would like to file a dispute, please contact LNRS by phone at 888-497-0011 or mail at LexisNexis Consumer Center, P.O. Box 105108, Atlanta, GA, 30348.

Click Here To Get A Free Copy Of Your Own LexisNexis Report

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James L. Paris 
Editor-In-Chief ChristianMoney.com 
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