Criminals involved in title washing might need some additional scrubbers if they hope to slip a previously flooded or totaled automobile by potential buyers, thanks to a new partnership.
Liberty Mutual, the eighth largest insurer in the U.S., has become the first insurer to offer vehicle identification numbers (VINS) to Carfax of every car that is declared a total loss and sold for salvage in the last five years and moving forward. Carfax provides vehicle information to the public for a fee.
“Varying state laws and a deceitful practice called 'title washing' allows salvaged cars to be sold without any documentation that they were once totaled,” said Ted Gramer, Liberty Mutual executive vice president, personal claims, in a release. “In the aftermath of disasters like the recent Midwestern floods and hurricanes, consumers need added protection from increased fraudulent activity.”
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