National Insurance Crime Bureau estimates 230,000 vehicles damaged from Sandy

The National Insurance Crime Bureau in the U.S. has revised its preliminary estimate of vehicles damaged from “superstorm” Sandy to be 230,000.

About 130,000 of those are in New York and 60,000 in New Jersey, according to the NICB. 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.

The extent of damage to the vehicles could vary from paint scratches to total loss, the NICB noted.

“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,” NICB noted in a public statement.

“As always, buyers should be careful when considering a used vehicle purchase in the weeks and months following a disaster such as Sandy.”

The bureau has come to its estimate using data from the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics.

The Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC), the administrative authority tasked with protecting consumers under the Motor Vehicles Dealers Act, also recently put out a warning to consumers to have used vehicles inspected carefully, as storm damaged cars from the U.S. could end up in the province.

Photo: A damaged vehicle and property in New Jersey following Hurricane Sandy. (Credit: Office of the Governor/Tim Larsen)