The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

Part 5: NICB and Hurricane Katrina: A 10-Year Retrospective


PHOTO

Over 300,000 Vehicles Damaged, Where are They Now?

DES PLAINES, IL -- Aug. 28, 2015: Each day this week the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) is releasing segments of a five-part documentary video that provides first-hand recollections of NICB employees and law enforcement personnel as they reflect on their roles in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In today's final installment, see how NICB's "Katrina Flood Vehicle Database" grew from an internal inventory and claims processing tool into VINCheck—the nation's first free vehicle history and consumer protection service based on insurance claims.

From January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2014, more than 5 million VINs have been searched through VINCheck. From those queries, 48,442 theft records and 507,110 salvage records were identified meaning that VINCheck may have saved thousands of innocent consumers from experiencing significant financial losses—or worse.

Ten years after Katrina, VINCheck remains the most visited page on the NICB.org website.

Video release schedule:
Monday, Part 1: Multistate Devastation     
Tuesday, Part 2: NICB's Initial Response
Wednesday, Part 3: Vehicle Identification
Thursday, Part 4: Coast to Coast Impact
Friday, Part 5: Birth of VINCheckSM