Flood Cars — NICB Access to Hurricane Claims

How do you know if your vehicle was one of the unfortunate victims of a flood or hurricane?

It is possible that these flood-damaged vehicles will be cleaned up and sold before their titles reflect such damage. Before buying, run the VIN through NICB VINCheck and an NMVTIS-based history report, and have the vehicle inspected for water damage. It would be better to discover this information prior to purchasing the vehicle. There is a solution from an unlikely source.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB)offers a free VINCheck service. It shows whether a vehicle has been reported stolen and not recovered, or declared salvage or a total loss, by NICB member insurers that take part. The search is free. It does not show the type or amount of damage, and it covers only vehicles that a participating insurer reported as salvage or a total loss.

Their agreement is significant to consumers as this information is not normally available to the public. Commercial vehicle-history reports and the federal NMVTIS system draw on many sources, including insurers; NICB’s VINCheck data comes from participating insurers, so checking more than one source gives a fuller picture.

There are two major limitations with the information the NICB is providing.

The first is that you will only find out if the VIN is associated with a claim. Consumers are not given access to the specifics of the claim, such as the type of damage or the amount paid. Vehicles that received minor damage such as scratches by tree branches will be flagged exactly the same way as a car that was completely submerged in water and raw sewage. These vehicles should be carefully inspected by a competent mechanic to determine the extent of damage.

The second limitation is that not all entities that are members of the NICB have agreed to allow their claims information to be searched. NMVTIS-based vehicle-history reports also include total-loss and salvage records reported by insurers.

The NICB members participating in this database are:

• Allstate
• Copart
• Direct General
• Farmers Insurance
• GEICO
• Insurance Auto Auctions
• Imperial Fire & Casualty
• Liberty Mutual
• MetLife
• Nationwide
• Progressive Safe Auto
• Safeway Insurance of Louisiana
• Sentry
• Participating NICB member insurers cover more than 92% of the market, according to NICB.
• State Farm
• The Hartford
• The Republic Group
• TM Claims Service
• U.S. Agencies
• USAA

If a vehicle you bought turns out to have an undisclosed flood or total-loss history, an independent appraisal can document how that history affects its value. Ask an attorney about your options against the seller.