Do car insurance companies check police records?

Insurance agents run a few different reports when they are taking applications for auto insurance.

At a minimum, the company will need to review your motor vehicle report, your claims history report, and your license history before any underwriter can adequately assess risk and issue an insurance policy at a fair rate.

Another record that could impact your rates or the decision made after filing an insurance claim is a police record. If you or a household driver have been named as a driver on a police report, it could influence your rates.

Purposely hiding the fact that you’ve had an accident doesn’t ensure you’ll pay a lower rate. The police don’t automatically send accident reports to insurance companies. Insurance providers will find out if you have been involved in an accident if you have filed a claim. However, the insurer may request a copy of the police accident report upon launching the claim process.

The police report has detailed information related to your car accident. Insurance companies may review this information to determine who was at fault for the accident and whether to deny the claim.

Let’s discuss what you need to know about policy records and how agents access them.

If you are concerned about your driving history and need more affordable auto insurance, enter your ZIP code above and compare at least three to four policies today!

Do insurance company run your criminal records?

There are a few different reasons you might have a police record under your name. Two of the most common reasons you’ll have a police record in your name is because you’ve been in an auto-related accident or because you’ve been charged with a criminal offense.

If you’re worried about auto insurance companies pulling your criminal record and seeing that you’ve been charged with an offense like trespassing or petty theft, don’t.

The only time your criminal record can have a bearing on your rates is when it’s a conviction that’s related to your driving.

Some offenses that might be found on your driving history include:

• DUI or DWI charges
• Reckless driving charges
• Hit-and-run charges
• Charges for filing fraudulent insurance claims in the past

All insurance companies will give underwriters who are in charge of quality checking the power to run motor vehicle records.

These reports are usually requested from the motor vehicle agency, but in some cases, when the driver has been licensed in multiple states within the last few years, the records might be run through a risk solutions company like LexisNexis.

What will show up on your DMV motor vehicle record?

The insurance agent won’t go on a criminal background search site and pay to run a traditional background check. That’s an unnecessary expense when most of the information that they need can easily be found on a motor vehicle report.

If you’re not sure what can be reported on your MVR, here’s some of the information it includes:

• Full name of driver
• Date of birth
• Height and weight
• Driver license class
• Date driver license was first issued in the state
• Points history
• Past moving violations
• Past driving-related convictions
• License status
• Accidents reported to the police

Serious moving violations that can also be classified as criminal offenses may appear on your driving record for between three and ten years.

It all depends on what the reporting requirements are in the state that you’re licensed in and if the conviction is considered a misdemeanor or a felony.

The DMV will also have the police reports because they are submitted by a law enforcement agency They use the CLUE system to provide details about an accident, and this information can stay on your driving record for up to seven years. Mostly, insurance companies use these details for three years. So, no matter what, you can’t hide a police report from the insurance company.

What is a C.L.U.E. report and why is it important?

C.L.U.E. stands for Claims Loss Underwriting Exchange. All insurance companies access reports on the C.L.U.E. database so that they can get a complete look into a driver’s claims history.

All insurance companies report prior loss information to the C.L.U.E. database so each company can efficiently assess risk without relying strictly on the word of the client.

If you’re worried about what will show up on your own personal C.L.U.E. report, you should order a copy for free before you apply for coverage.

Remember that reports are updated daily. If you’ve recently filed a claim, it could be added to the report in the blink of an eye.

Here’s some of the information that’s on your record:

• Total claims reported
• Possible related claims
• Name, gender, date of birth, and social number of driver
• Claim date and age
• Company claim was filed through
• Policy number and name of policyholder
• Claim number and operator name
• Address of claim
• Vehicle the claim was filed in
• Claim disposition
• Payments made by claim type
• Status of each claim type
• Inquiry history

What happens if you file a claim?

The only time that an insurance company will specifically ask you for a police report is if you file an insurance claim.

After you’ve gotten into an accident or you’ve discovered that your car has been stolen, it’s common practice for the adjuster assigned to your file to ask you to provide a police report.

Believe it or not, you’re not always required to submit a police report even when you’re asked for one. The report itself is helpful when the claim needs to be investigated because it will either confirm or negate the statements that you’ve made.

It’s particularly helpful to assign fault to a driver if the law enforcement officer cited one of the drivers after the accident.

If you failed to call the police at the accident scene or the dispatcher told you that there wasn’t a need for the office to report to the scene, the adjuster can’t turn you away.

You can still file your claim, but more of the focus will have to be put on the location of the damage and all of the statements that have been made.

Don’t hide your driving past from an insurance company. There are ways that the carrier can find out that you’ve run into problems over the years.

Be honest and upfront when you’re getting quotes. Once you know what’s on your police accident report, you can use an online system and get your instant rate quotes.

Try our FREE online quote tool and start comparison shopping today! Enter your ZIP code below to find the best rates for you!