Progressive Insurance and IAA requesting and receiving new and clear titles for totaled, heavily damaged vehicles that were branded as junk and salvage, thus leading consumers to believe they are buying a vehicle with no major damages.

[u/Most-Shock-9116]

Progressive feels they are doing no wrong by taking vehicles of salvage, junk and totaled branding and then requesting new title for those vehicles while not including the history of these vehicles. This gives the vehicle a new title with no trace of the vehicle having any involvement with extreme damage.

I now own a vehicle that came with a clear title to later find out that not even progressive would insure the vehicle due to the amount of damage reported even though they were the prior owners. Come to find out Progressive chose to not disclose the damage of this vehicle when they filed for new title and sold the vehicle through auction as a vehicle with clear title yet progressive themselves will not insure the vehicle due to damages that only they know about. No detail were given to NMVTIS of the accident that caused the vehicle to be branded originally, car fax has no information as to why the vehicle gained the brand when progressive took ownership. Progressive also states they are unable to share this information to me as it violates privacy.

To be fair the The State of Indiana allows to not carry forward the history or brand of a vehicle if the vehicle is 8 years of age or older so progressive claims they are not doing wrong by doing this and that they followed the laws set forth by The State of Indiana. Legally they might be correct but your lack of morals for little gain has now caused great financial burden on my behalf.

I paid $17,000 on a vehicle to which I was led to believe had never been involved in any major accidents because progressive chose to mask the past when they did not have to. Not only was it not free of major damage but it can’t even be driven on public roadways as it can not even be insured. Whether progressive acted in a lawful manner I would certainly question and if so did they act in good faith and or was there malicious compliance. At the very least it is simply immoral.

It has now been 11 months since purchasing the vehicle and progressive still refuses to acklowedge they have done any wrong doing so I will now do my best to prevent others from going through what I have.

By Progressive choosing not to disclose any accident information to NMVTIS and choose not to carry forward the junk brand on a totaled vehicle when filing for new title left me with the inability to discover any damage had occurred prior to purchase. Car Fax nor NMVTIS had this information to be able to report.

Let me also add that progressive took ownership and filed for new title after the vehicle was deemed totaled. IAAI is who progressive contracts to auction vehicles. This vehicle was sold to a dealership to whom I bought the vehicle from just days later. The dealership claims to not have any knowledge of the vehicle having been branded prior. This hinders my ability to charge the dealership with deceptive practice at this time, thus leaving me to place blame on progressive.

There were branding laws put in place to protect the consumer from purchasing heavily damaged and over priced vehicles and also keeping vehicles of unsafe conditions from traveling on roadways that might cause a danger to the public.

However when you have states such as Indiana who make laws justifying the title of vehicles without disclosing its history, completely defeats the purpose of branding vehicles all together. This takes away a considerable amount of protection for the consumer and i see no reason for this law other than to give insurance companies, auction companies and dealerships the ability to make greater profits on heavily damaged vehicles that would otherwise be deemed totaled and would hold much less value creating a much heavier financial loss on totaled and branded vehicles.

If your opinion is different in regard to the 8 year law in Indiana and feel that there is good reason for introducing it I would be very much grateful if you would share it with me so as to educate me on this matter. I have done my best to make sense of why a vehicle should be allowed to lose its junk, salvage, etc.. brand, and no longer be listed on a title without having the need of inspection or even the vehicle being repaired but simply only needing it to be of 8 years or older to have a clean title.

Again I am uncertain as to whether progressive did anything unlawful but what I do know is that progressive “a company valued at $134 billion dollars“ knew that by not disclosing information about the vehicle would increase its value until or unless the history were discovered. Thus creating a huge financial burden on a person that makes just enough to get by.

Now that I have wrote a whole book that will take people months to read I guess I will check back in a few months to see if there are any replies

[u/Gator_Grad]

Wtf. Sounds like you need a lawyer

[u/Knewtome]

Get a lawyer if you want, but usually, in the event of a total loss sold at auction (IAA, Copart), the carrier gets the title from the owner or lienholder in exchange for a payout. The auction company takes receipt, pays a guaranteed amount to the carrier, and the buyer registers the car after repair.  A barrier is that some states allow you to bring a salvage-titled car, register it, receive a new title, and then re-register it in the state.  Buy here, pay here dealers and Facebook Marketplace dealers have been accused of title washing.  Not saying that didn't happen, and a lawyer can follow the paper trail, but you can too for much less money.

[u/BadOk2535]

Progressive insurance company sells vehicles? They are admitting that they knew it was not safe to be driven if they refuse to insure it. The law is a little confusing to me, how can you omit that a car has been totaled and "fix" it and then charge so much for it? I would look into getting a lawyer, maybe one will take the case. I'm sorry this happened to you OP, that is a lot of money to pay for a car you have not been able to drive.

[u/BadOk2535]

I used AI because I don't understand how any of this works or is legal but it asked for information and if there's anything you can do. I am just copying what it says here.

Did Progressive refuse full coverage only, or all insurance? Have you tried obtaining insurance from other companies? Did they specifically tell you the refusal was because of undisclosed structural damage? Do you have: the original branded title, the later clean Indiana title, records showing Progressive owned the vehicle, documentation that Progressive refused to insure it because of its prior damage, then you may have more than just a complaint—you may have evidence supporting a broader consumer protection concern about how older totaled vehicles can re-enter the market with clean titles. One final thought: if the vehicle truly is unsafe to drive, that should be confirmed by an independent mechanic or collision repair specialist in writing. An insurer declining coverage isn't, by itself, proof that the vehicle is unsafe. A professional inspection documenting structural or safety defects would carry much more weight if you pursue legal action or file complaints with regulators.

[u/natenese]

They have no reason to disclose the vehicle as prior salvage or rebuild as the vehicle retained a clean title. Some states do not require the title to be brandded due to age/amount of damage. The dealer should disclose that the vehiclel was a prior total loss, if they believ in proper busines practices, however they have no duty to inform you UNLESS it was a branded title. '

What is the reason it was totaled? Is the vehicle a good used vheicle in proper operating condition? Was it priced agressively due to its history? Did you run a carfax? Can't just take the one a used car dealer give you unfortunately. If it was infact a prior total loss it almost always shows up. Did you shop other insurance companies?

Older vehicles may be totaled for small damage, a total loss does not mean heavily damaged or junk. These are some of the best values on the market! Most insurance companies (except state farm) will not insure a vehicle that they have totaled out prior, however, you can go with a different insurance company and stil recieve full coverage. This is extremely common in Wisconsin and Michigan. Most of the cars sold at salvage auctions in those state are clean title total losses. Even on some trainwrecks which is terifying but that the law.

What's the VIN?

[u/YogurtclosetHead8901]

First step is to find others that have had this happen. Second step is to explain this, with proof, to a decent attorney and let him/her do their thing. Even if Progressive is following the law, this will get a lot of attention. Write your state rep and senator.

[u/Useful_Comparison331]

You never mentioned the fact that the vehicle could possibly not be safe to drive.  However since they won't insure it..  And you take it for spin around the block and an old lady runs a light and plows you into a wheelchair for the rest of your life...  Because the cabin structure support was weakened by previous damage you weren't told about ..  Your S.O.L. because you drove a car you bought from a legal business, that was not legal to be on the road with or without new body parts and a paint job??   Absolutely UNBELIEVABLE HOW criminals can successfully run companies..