KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho | Allstate will auction 1965 VW bus, donate proceeds to charity

Allstate will auction 1965 VW bus, donate proceeds to charity

SPOKANE, Wash. - Monday, Allstate announced that it will sell a recovered 1965 Volkswagen Bus at auction and donate the proceeds to charity.

In 1974, the V.W. Bus was reported stolen by Allstate customer Michelle Squires, of Chattaroy.  Allstate paid Squires' claim and, as part of the claims process, the vehicle title was transferred to Allstate. 

The vehicle was missing for 35 years until October of this year, when it was discovered during a U.S. Customs Service inspection of a shipping container departing for the Netherlands.  U.S. Customs, the California Highway Patrol, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau conducted an investigation of the vehicle's history, which includes several possessors in multiple states across the country during the last 35 years, and concluded that Allstate is the lawful titleholder.

 "Typically, if we do recover a stolen vehicle, it's in worse shape than before it was stolen and it's worth less – sometimes far less – than the amount we paid to our customer to settle their claim," noted Paul Huber, Allstate's director of claims in the company's northwest region. "The situation with this Bus is so unique that we thought it required a unique approach."

Working with national auction vendor, Copart, Allstate will make the 1965 V.W. Bus available for public auction on Friday, December 18, 2009.

The proceeds of the auction will be donated to Lydia Place, a nonprofit organization in Washington State serving homeless women and children impacted by domestic violence.