If Sen. Trent Lott has his way, there soon will be national legislation that requires information to be provided to consumers about vehicles that are declared total losses by insurance companies.

Lott, who represents Mississippi and is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, has introduced a bill called the Passenger Vehicle Loss Disclosure Act (S. 3707). If passed, the bill would require insurance companies to publicly disclose the vehicle identification number, the date a vehicle is declared total loss, the odometer reading on the date of the declaration of total loss, and a statement explaining why a vehicle was declared totaled. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation would regulate and require all insurers and self-insurers to disclose this information to the public.

“Insurance companies will be required to make this information available for purchase by commercial companies that package and sell information to consumers, such as web sites offering vehicle history reports,” said Lott, in a release.

S. 3707 is a reaction to the events that occurred in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina. Because so many vehicles sustained significant water damage, it was feared that many could be cosmetically altered to appear almost new and sold as legitimate used cars. According to some estimates, this kind of fraud costs consumers more than $11 billion each year.

Bob Redding, a representative for the Automotive Service Association, said in a statement, “Consumers, law enforcement, and independent repairers benefit from more public disclosure of these total loss vehicles. The technology and information is available. Sen. Lott's bill puts the information into the hands of those who need it in a timely manner.”

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