You probably know that it's not a good idea to make too many claims on your homeowner’s insurance policy, because your insurer could drop you.

Insurance companies are using a massive database named CLUE, Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, to deny and sometimes drop insurance coverage based on the history of a homes claims or damage reports.  ChoicePoint of Alpharetta, Ga., the gatekeeper of the CLUE database keeps the claims history, and damage reports for five years.

The original intent of the CLUE database was to watch for fraud and customers who had a history of filing an abnormally abundant amount of claims.  Currently the CLUE database flags homes that may have claims in the future. The CLUE database also can make it challenging to sell your home, endanger future sales of your home, and reduce the value of your home - Even if it was the previous owner whom made the claim.

With the paranoia of mold, any water damage report is enough to shun insurers from insuring your home.  Many believe this practice is unfair as it holds consumers captive.  After all, why report a claim if it will damage your homes value?

The nation's largest property insurers have dropped thousands of policyholders from coast to coast and stopped writing homeowners insurance in more than a dozen states. Allstate, for one, will no longer write policies in California and states along the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard.

So far, insurers' increased use of the CLUE database has not caused serious problems for the booming real estate industry, said George Tribble, a member of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers' board of directors.

But Tribble said he has heard a number of anecdotal reports of residential sales falling through at the last minute because of CLUE-related problems in securing insurance. He fears the problem could get worse if insurers begin to shy away from homes that have had even minor damage.

"Right now, it's still a pretty isolated problem," Tribble said, "but that could change if (insurers) continue to do this. … If you're not able to get insurance, you're not able to close the deal."

Tribble thinks it's particularly unfair that a home could be blackballed because of one claim, let alone a single report of damage that didn't lead to a claim. "Insurance companies want to keep their costs down, which is understandable," Tribble said, "but this is what you have insurance for -- to cover you for accidents."

What you can do to protect yourself:

Keep your home well maintained, starting with the roof and plumbing.  Simple items like replacing the clothes washer, and dishwasher hoses.  Burst lines often cause water damage if the go undetected.

Like most insurance, if you keep your deductible high you are more willing to pay for small repairs out of pocket.

Think twice about water-related claims. This is especially true if you plan to sell within a few years. You could be better off paying to repair the problem yourself rather having your home be branded as high risk.

Don't tell your insurer about problems unless you're sure you'll file a claim.

You are entitled to a free copy of your home's CLUE report every year or if you've been denied insurance. You have a right under federal law to dispute any erroneous information on the report.