In the October issue of Automotive News they reported some interesting stats. As of mid-October, Hurricane Katrina had generated 185,000 auto insurance claims among members of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. Those claims represent nearly $1.18 billion in damages which are likely to grow considerably.

The Progressive Group of Insurance is destroying as many as 5,000 Katrina-damaged vehicles and AAA Missouri plans to destroy 1,656 vehicles. This type of action will ensure that these vehicles won't resurface via a washed title and cause further victimization and claims.

CarFax estimates as many as 570,000 cars and trucks were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. To protect yourself from purchasing a problem vehicle check with http://www.carfax.com/ and http://www.nicb.org/