Liberty Mutual and Carfax Team to Protect Consumers from Unknowingly Buying Flood Damaged and Totaled Cars

BOSTON, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- It happens all across the country: people purchase used cars without realizing they were totaled in crashes, floods and other disasters. These buyers end up paying more than the car is truly worth, often face steep repair bills, and -- most alarming -- are driving potentially unsafe vehicles.

To protect consumers from this fate, Liberty Mutual, the nation's eighth-largest car insurer, is providing Carfax with its data on every car declared a total loss and sold for salvage for the past five years and going-forward. This information is then disclosed to the buyer on a Carfax vehicle history report.

"Varying state laws and a deceitful practice called 'title washing' allows salvaged cars to be sold without any documentation they were once totaled," said Ted Gramer, Liberty Mutual executive vice president, Personal Claims. "In the aftermath of disasters like the recent Midwestern floods and hurricanes, consumers need added protection from increased fraudulent activity."

Through the Liberty Mutual Rewards website, www.libertymutualrewards.com, Carfax is offering consumers a free flood check to quickly confirm if a vehicle they are interested in buying has ever been reported as flood damaged. Consumers also can purchase through the site a complete Carfax vehicle history report at a 25 percent discount.

"Liberty Mutual is the first insurance company to offer this protection to consumers, which complements our commitment to making our roads safer and reducing fraud in the used car market," said Dick Raines, president of Carfax. "The addition of total loss information to our database helps both buyers and sellers of used cars. A Carfax Vehicle History Report combined with a mechanic's inspection protects consumers from hidden problems and helps them find safe, reliable cars."

Furthering its consumer safety responsibility, Liberty Mutual also recently announced its support of the National Insurance Crime Bureau's VINCheck(SM) buyer protection program. Consumers can input any vehicle's unique 17-character identification number (VIN) at www.nicb.org to determine if a participating insurance company such as Liberty Mutual had previously declared the car a total loss.

About Liberty Mutual

"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and sixth-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2007 direct written premium. Liberty Mutual ranks 94th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2007 revenue. The eighth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual (www.libertymutual.com) sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability, and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in group sponsored voluntary auto and homeowners insurance programs, offering personal lines insurance through payroll deduction and direct billing to employees and members of more than 10,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.

Liberty Mutual Group has over 41,000 employees located in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

About Carfax

Millions of used car buyers and sellers each year rely on Carfax, the most trusted provider of vehicle history information. Using the unique 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN) found on vehicle dashboards and title documents, Carfax instantly generates a detailed Vehicle History Report on any used car or light truck. Carfax Vehicle History Reports(TM) provide valuable information that helps used car buyers and sellers make better decisions. Free Carfax Vehicle History Reports are instantly available with vehicles listed in nearly every online marketplace by Carfax-subscribing dealers. For more information, ask your dealer or visit www.carfax.com.

CONTACT: Glenn Greenberg

               (617) 574-5874               [email protected]  

SOURCE Liberty Mutual

CONTACT: Glenn Greenberg of Liberty Mutual, +1-617-574-5874, [email protected]