A good “CLUE” report can show that a home has been free of major insurance claims, but a bad one can sometimes scuttle the entire sale transaction.

Q: I am selling my home. As part of the marketing efforts, my agent suggests that I purchase something called a “CLUE” report to show that my home has not been involved in any insurance claims in the past several years. The report would not be very costly, but I’m worried about getting nickel-and-dimed to death in marketing charges and don’t really see how providing such a report would help the property sell faster. What are your thoughts?

A: “CLUE” is the acronym for the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, which is sort of an insurance-industry clearinghouse that reports on the claims histories of people and homes alike. The typical report shows what claims have been lodged against a property in the past five years and usually costs about $20.

If I were selling my home today and had not filed an insurance claim for the past several years, I would pay the modest fee for a CLUE report on the property and provide copies to prospective buyers. A clean report can make a buyer feel more confident that the property has been relatively free of various claims, especially such major problems as flood damage or mold, which sometimes create lingering construction and health issues even after repairs.

If I were a buyer, I also would make my offer contingent on getting both a satisfactory CLUE and a satisfactory inspection report well before the closing date.

According to insurance-industry statistics, about 90 percent of all claims are reported by insurers to CLUE. Insurance companies also check CLUE when deciding whether to issue a new policy to a home buyer.

If the CLUE database indicates that the property being sold has been involved in more than one or two claims in the past half-decade, the buyer might have to pay much higher premiums for coverage or might not be able to get a policy at all. In some cases, just a single claim is enough for insurers to shy away from the deal.

And, because getting insurance is a prerequisite for most mortgage loans, buyers who can’t line up a policy often can’t get the financing needed to complete the home sale.

The CLUE system is operated by Georgia-based ChoicePoint Asset Co.

You can get more information and order a report by visiting its Web site, www.choicetrust.com, or by calling (877) 547-2518.