Automation Can Power Investigation of Total Auto Loss or Theft Claims

October 7, 2025 / 3 min read

For many auto insurers, technological advances have bypassed the handling of total loss and theft claims, often leaving fundamental questions unanswered. Was the theft real? Was the fire or flood loss truly an accident? And if the theft really happened, where is the vehicle? These gaps leave open the possibility that fraud will be missed or the insurer will never recoup any of the payout on a stolen vehicle.

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The issue often traces back to how insurers scrutinize theft, fire, or flood claims and locate stolen vehicles. The principles are sound; the challenge lies in the execution.

Identifying vehicles offered for sale shortly before or after a total-loss claim can point to policyholders who might have been in financial distress. Failing to sell the car, some of these claimants may stage a theft or fire, or place a vehicle in the path of expected flooding. Online sale listings can be critical to flagging such scenarios for further investigation.
Tracking down stolen vehicles after paying a claim can significantly offset such losses through recovery and subsequent sale or salvage. As with fraud investigations, e-commerce listings can help—in these cases, delivering critical information on a vehicle’s whereabouts. Records of vehicles moving through ports can help trace their path from where they were stolen to overseas resale markets.

Many insurers still use manual processes to pursue these investigative leads, confronting claims staff with a sea of potential data sources but no efficient, comprehensive way to scan them all.

A digital accelerator

For users of Verisk’s ClaimSearch®, a just announced partnership with Legentic could change the game with two new tools that match claim information to identifiers such as VINs, serial numbers, and license plates:

Digital Commerce Detector – This breakthrough solution continuously monitors and archives more than 8 billion open-source data points across digital marketplaces, forums, and social platforms to uncover suspicious activity both prior to and during an open claim that may tie back to total-loss claims as early as first notice of loss.

Digital Asset Finder – Using the same data sources plus shipping records, this solution searches for stolen vehicles and high-value equipment, instantly delivering alerts to claims and subrogation teams to help them locate assets and initiate recovery.

The partnership between Verisk and Legentic, a well-established provider in Europe with more than 6,000 users, sprang from the recognition of the companies’ complementary strengths: More than 1.8 billion claims records at Verisk, representing 95% of the U.S. property/casualty industry; and Legentic’s 10 years of archived e-commerce listings across some 1,500 sources, capturing and normalizing data that otherwise might be irretrievable to claims organizations.

An ecosystem, not a jungle

Insurers seeking to expand automation face a growing array of providers offering fragmentary solutions. Building and integrating an automated pipeline to historical e-commerce information would present a daunting IT burden. Connecting with Legentic’s unique data set through ClaimSearch reduces that lift to zero. It’s as simple as switching on these capabilities within a solution most of the industry already uses.

Legentic is a strategic contributor to the ClaimSearch Ecosystem Partner Program, which supplies users with seamless internal and external solutions. Using Verisk’s reliable data-sharing platform, customers can instantly access a network of vetted service providers, fostering streamlined innovation and informed decision-making.

Verisk and Legentic are exploring additional offerings that could provide similar intelligence for non-auto claims, assist with tracking vehicles and equipment across fleet management, leasing, and finance operations, and support the cargo industry.

Learn more about Digital Commerce Detector, Digital Asset Finder, and the full range of ClaimSearch anti-fraud tools.

How Intelligent Automation Transforms Total Auto Loss or Theft Claims Investigations

A digital accelerator

An ecosystem, not a jungle