Automakers to Insurance Companies: Spread the Word on Recalls
CARS.COM — Two automaker trade groups that represent virtually the entire auto industry are imploring major U.S. auto insurance companies to remind drivers they insure of open recalls on their cars.
Related: How to Find Your Vehicle Identification Number
The Association of Global Automakers and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers sent the appeal in letters to chief executives at State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Geico, Progressive and Nationwide, Reuters reports. Cars.com obtained a copy of the letter, which asked the insurers to “provide information to each policy holder, at initial sign-up or renewal, regarding the federal government’s motor vehicle safety recall ‘look up tool’ or other means for accessing this information to determine the recall completion status of their vehicle(s).”
The letter goes on to advocate “great benefit” if insurers would consider checking policyholders’ vehicle indentification numbers whenever they applied for or renewed their insurance to see whether there were any unrepaired recalls.
Asked if automakers would pressure insurance companies to give discounts to owners who have no open recalls — or charge extra for owners who do — Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers spokesman Wade Newton told Cars.com that he didn’t know if “that could be the type of request that we could be considering” next.
The appeal comes on the heels of a 10th confirmed U.S. death from a recalled — but unrepaired — Takata airbag inflator that ruptured in Texas, killing the driver of a 2002 Honda Civic on March 31.
The automakers provided insurers with sample materials to use in mailed or electronic notices that would advise consumers to check their VIN for recalls. “We wanted to give the insurance companies a toolkit to communicate this with policyholders because they have kind of a recurring touch point with their policyholders when they renew their insurance,” Newton told Cars.com.
Despite ramped-up efforts by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, including the recall search tool where drivers can enter a vehicle identification number and check for any recalls, unrepaired recalls are an automotive epidemic. In February, CarFax found more than 47 million U.S. cars on the road have unrepaired recalls. That’s around 20 percent of the total vehicles in operation, by IHS Automotive’s 2015 count.
