More than a half million vehicles were affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And, if history is a guide, about half of them will be cleaned up and sold. So, if you re in the market for a used car or watercraft, make sure you check its history and have a competent mechanic inspect it.

As a public service, Farmers Insurance and other industry experts have banded together to compile a database of vehicles and watercraft damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the database is available free of charge on the National Insurance Crime Bureau s (NICB) Web site. The information was gathered from insurance companies, salvage yards and state and local authorities.

Farmers is taking one additional step to help consumers. Because of the contamination in flood waters around New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, vehicles insured by Farmers in that local area that are determined to be a total loss will be crushed. That will prevent those vehicles or parts from them from being resold. This is just another way Farmers is serving our customers and our neighbors.

If you're in the market for a used car or watercraft, make sure you check out the database. The NICB Web site also has a helpful fact sheet on how to check vehicles for flood damage.


Submitted by
Farmer's Insurance mickey@district-09.com
Posted 04/09/2006

Read Copyright & Disclaimer Notice