Industry News: Estimate On Vehicles Damaged In Sandy Rise To 250,500

[William Maley]

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By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

February 24, 2013

Four months after Hurricane Sandy blasted the East Coast, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) announced its revised estimates for the number of vehicles damaged in the storm's wake.

The new total of vehicles damaged in Hurricane Sandy stands at 250,500 vehicles. This number is well above the estimate put out by National Automobile Dealers Association which say that 200,000 vehicles could be damaged.

The majority of the vehicle losses stem from New York (150,000) and New Jersey (60,000). NICB's data also showed how massive Sandy was, with West Virginia (1,000), Maine (500) and Vermont (500) all reporting losses.

NICB points out that its figures only represent insured losses - uninsured vehicles could drive the figures higher.

Source: NICB

Image Credit: Doug Kuntz/Splash News

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected]or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Releated Story:

Sandy Cost Automakers 15,000 Vehicles, Total Vehicle Damages Could Total 200k

Press Release is on Page 2

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NICB Update-Sandy Damaged Vehicles Surpass 250,000 Mark

DES PLAINES, Ill., Feb. 21, 2013 - The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) today announced revised estimates for the number of vehicles damaged as a result of Sandy.

The current estimate of vehicles damaged as a result of Sandy is now set at 250,500 based on claims processed by insurance companies. New York's number increased from a previous level of 130,000 to 150,000.

This is the complete list of states generating Sandy-related vehicle damage claims in descending order:

New York 150,000

New Jersey 60,000

Connecticut 8,000

Maryland 5,500

Massachusetts 5,000

Virginia 4,500

Ohio 4,000

Pennsylvania 4,000

Delaware 2,000

New Hampshire 2,000

North Carolina 1,500

District of Columbia 1,000

Rhode Island 1,000

West Virginia 1,000

Maine 500

Vermont 500

Total 250,500

It is important to note that these are preliminary figures and may change as additional claims are received and processed. Also, these are insured losses only. There are certainly many uninsured vehicles that were damaged by Sandy and those numbers are not reflected in this information. Moreover, there is no determination as to the extent of damage to these vehicles. They could have sustained minor paint scratches from flying debris, or have been under water for days and rendered total losses.

By now there could be many Sandy damaged vehicles that are in the process of being reconditioned and sold to unsuspecting consumers all across the country. It is not illegal to buy or sell flood vehicles, or vehicles declared as salvage, as long as the parties to the sale are aware of the vehicle's status. Consumers should be aware that severely damaged vehicles may appear advertised for sale without any indication that they were at all affected by Sandy. As always, buyers should be careful when considering a used vehicle purchase in the weeks and months following a disaster such as Sandy.

Consumers can download useful checklists and learn more about flood and salvage vehicle scams and post-disaster contractor repair schemes by visiting the NICB website here. Also, NICB's VINCheck allows free consumer access to the vehicle salvage records of participating NICB member insurance companies who collectively provide 88 percent of the auto insurance in force today.

Anyone with information concerning vehicle theft and insurance fraud can report it anonymously by calling toll-free 1-800-TEL-NICB (1-800-835-6422), texting keyword "fraud" to TIP411 (847411) or by visiting our website at www.nicb.org. Or, iPhone or iPad users can download the NICB Fraud Tips app to make it easy to quickly send a tip and get a response.

About the National Insurance Crime Bureau: headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness. The NICB is supported by more than 1,100 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote over $319 billion in insurance premiums in 2010, or approximately 80 percent of the nation's property/casualty insurance. That includes more than 94 percent ($152 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. To learn more visit www.nicb.org.

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[Camino LS6]

I think I'd tackle a flood car as a project (under the right circumstances).

[G. David Felt]

Camino, I agree for those of us that love to wrench with the right car, you could pick up a cheap car and have a sweet ride once you fixed everything damaged by the water.

My concern is that these auto's will make their way into the grey market and unsuspecting people will buy them and then curse the auto company for making garbage cars due to all the problems when these auto's should be just crushed by the insurance company or at least they should be marked as a water logged auto. Buyer Be Ware.

[Robert Hall]

Buying a flood damaged car sounds like it would be a nightmare... rust, ruined interior, ruined electricals, etc....

[Camino LS6]

It depends.

The situation would have to be just right.

[GMTruckGuy74]

A G8 GT or GXP and a Ute that someone snuck into the country

[GMTruckGuy74]

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2013/02/mansfield_allows_auto_salvage.html

In related news, a couple of towns over from where I live and at an exit of I-295 a company called Copart started hauling tons of vehicles to a former trailer manuafacturing company called Vanco that has long been closed (the owner died years ago and the son closed the business but kept the property; I guess he saw Superstorm Sandy cash with the need for damaged vehicle & boat storage). The town estimates 3,500 vehicles have been brought to this lot, which I pass every day on my way to work. I noticed tractor-trailers and 1-ton duallies hauling junked vehicles and boats in November; I thought the town created a new salvaging yard (several are in the surrounding towns). Late December the news broke that Copart, without township approval, leased Vanco's property to store thousands of Sandy damaged cars, trucks, vans and boats. Passing by I even noticed several classic cars parked in the lot, which had major security posted around the fenced-in property (sad to see such classics as a black '57 Chevy Sedan Delivery and some big Chryslers totalled due to the storm). Copart buys the damaged vehicles from the insurance claims and then sells the cars off around the country. This isn't Coparts only facility I've learned in following news and newspaper reports, apparently they have 5 or 6 more locations as big or bigger than the Mansfield location. Passing by today I still see tons of vehicles parked on the grass fields of Vanco's property, which I believe is what most people are mad at.

[Camino LS6]

Yep, I have been checking this stuff out online and Copart seems to have a monopoly on this business.

The classic cars are the best candidates to restore due to the simplicity of the electrical systems.

Like to get my mitts on the sedan delivery you spied!

[GMTruckGuy74]

I spied that '57 SD back in early December and it was there for about two weeks. It was parked up front with the other classics, in full view of the around the clock security. I was sad the day I drove by and saw it missing. There are still over 2,000 vehicles there and I've noticed on many of the pickup-type haulers Texas markings and plates. One of the articles I read stated that these cars were being purchased by the truck full in Texas... wonder why they're in demand there?

[Robert Hall]

I spied that '57 SD back in early December and it was there for about two weeks. It was parked up front with the other classics, in full view of the around the clock security. I was sad the day I drove by and saw it missing. There are still over 2,000 vehicles there and I've noticed on many of the pickup-type haulers Texas markings and plates. One of the articles I read stated that these cars were being purchased by the truck full in Texas... wonder why they're in demand there?

Probably being shipped to Mexico via Texas....strong cheap used car market in Mexico, and a salvage title is probably no issue there...

Edited February 28, 2013 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Camino LS6]

On a '57 SD, a salvage title means very little.