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June 8, 2006

Randy Nehrt
Beth Kaufman

White Says Titles For Potential Hurricane Flood Vehicles
Will Be Closely Scrutinized

SPRINGFIELD — Secretary of State Jesse White announced that his office is closely monitoring title applications involving potential flood vehicles from last year's hurricanes.

To date, the Secretary of State's office has screened 710 title applications from Louisiana, Alabama, or Mississippi. The review so far has found 174 vehicles that were registered in a flood county. White is requiring the applicants for those titles to submit a Hurricane Disclosure Statement to obtain a clean Illinois title. The statement must be signed by the registered owner of the vehicle and the insurance agent at the time of the hurricane. Any applicant unable or unwilling to supply the signed form will receive an Illinois Flood title only. Another 200 title applications have been reviewed and processed with clean titles and 336 title applications are still under review.

"We are taking every step possible to ensure that flood damaged vehicles do not receive clean titles in Illinois," White said. "In addition to the extra scrutiny these vehicle receive from my office, we are providing a link on our website to the National Insurance Crime Bureau's database of known hurricane damaged vehicles that consumers may check themselves.

"It is still important however, that buyers research as much as possible about a vehicle before making a purchase. Consumers may also want to consult companies that provide additional information about the history of vehicles and it is always a good idea to have a mechanic inspect a vehicle before making a purchase."

In response to issues surrounding vehicles affected by last season's hurricanes, White has adopted new procedures for all vehicles seeking a clean Illinois title using a surrender title from Louisiana, Alabama, or Mississippi. The procedures were developed in conjunction with Illinois Secretary of State Police and are consistent with procedures used by the Louisiana Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle owners who do not follow the following procedures will receive a flood title.

• Each application will be reviewed to determine if the vehicle is listed on the National Insurance Crime Bureau's (NICB) database of known hurricane damaged vehicles.
• If the vehicle is not on that database, the application will be further reviewed to determine if the vehicle was registered in a flood county.
• If the vehicle appears on the NICB database, the vehicle will be issued an Illinois Flood title only (regardless of whether or not a branding appears on the surrender).
• If the vehicle is not listed on the database but was registered in a flood county, the applicant must submit a Hurricane Disclosure Statement to obtain a clean Illinois title. This statement must be signed by the registered owner and insurance agent at the time of the hurricane. Any applicant unable or unwilling to supply the signed form will receive an Illinois Flood title only (regardless whether or not a branding appears on the surrender).
• Vehicles with clean surrender titles from these states that do not appear on the NICB database and were not registered in a flood county will receive clean Illinois titles.
• Vehicles coming to Illinois with a title branded from one of these states will be treated the same as previous policy and receive a similar Illinois branding.

Any applicant who wishes to receive an Illinois Flood title from their clean Louisiana, Alabama or Mississippi surrender title does not need not complete the Hurricane Disclosure Statement. The Hurricane Disclosure Statement and link to NCIB database of known hurricane damaged vehicles can be found on Secretary White's website, www.cyberdriveillinois.com.

More Hurricane Damaged Vehicle Information