NICB Allows VIN Searching for Stolen Cars

In an effort to help insurance companies curb fraud from unrecovered stolen cars being resold to unsuspecting consumers, the National Insurance Crime Bureau has created a new database that will let car buyers search before buying. But some industry representatives are wondering if the program goes far enough.

The Unrecovered Stolen Vehicle database logs the vehicle identification number (VIN) from every stolen vehicle reported by its 100+ member insurance companies. The information is then searchable by the public, free of charge. With an annual average recovery rate of just 63 percent, several million vehicles remain unaccounted for and could possibly end up being purchased by unsuspecting consumers.