Sandy-Damaged Vehicles Hit 230,000 Mark

The current estimate of vehicles damaged as a result of Sandy hit the 230,000 mark as claims processed by insurance companies have been reviewed and analyzed. Not surprisingly, New York had the most vehicles affected by the storm with 130,000 while New Jersey generated 60,000 claims, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) which announced the revised estimates as provided by the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics.

The remaining 40,000 were reported from Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.

It is important to note that these are preliminary figures and may change as additional claims are received and processed. 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.

The important message to used vehicle consumers is to 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.

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.

Source: NICB