ISO's Link to Equipment Database Company Will Help Owners and Insurers Identify and Recover Stolen Heavy Equipment

January 1, 2011 / 3 min read

NEW YORK, March 12, 2001 — National Equipment Register (NER), a new database of lost and stolen heavy construction and agricultural equipment, will be linked to ISO ClaimSearch®, the insurance industry's all-claims database operated by Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), both companies announced today.

The NER database will be used by insurers, equipment owners and law-enforcement agencies to help identify stolen equipment and facilitate its recovery and return to its owners. The link between the ISO ClaimSearch system and the NER database will enable insurers to register equipment losses.

ISO will provide NER the technological know-how and a way to integrate into insurers' existing workflow processes to maximize the benefits of the NER service to insurers.

The NER database will tie pieces of equipment and their identifying information, such as serial numbers and other distinctive characteristics, to the equipment's owners to help law enforcement agencies determine whether equipment is in the possession of its owners or others. The database is expected to become operational later this year.

"Our link with the National Equipment Register is a natural extension of ISO's fraud-fighting activities — particularly the operation of the ISO ClaimSearch® system, which contains claim information used by insurers to identify potentially fraudulent claims," said Frank J. Coyne, ISO's president and chief executive officer.

"The NER database will help participants verify the ownership of equipment, facilitate the recovery of stolen equipment and reduce fraudulent theft claims," Coyne added.

Heavy construction and agricultural equipment — frequently stolen from remote, poorly-guarded work sites — is estimated to cost equipment manufacturers, dealers, owners and insurers more than $1 billion a year. NER estimates only 10 percent of lost and stolen equipment is recovered.

The equipment database will contain detailed information on equipment reported lost or stolen by insurers, owners and law enforcement agencies. The NER database will allow equipment owners to confidentially register their ownership online to improve the speed and accuracy of loss reports and help them recover equipment even when no loss reports have been submitted. Equipment owners will also have secure online access to manage their inventory from remote locations.

"As a single source for equipment-loss reports, the database will benefit all our customers," said David Shillingford, president of the National Equipment Register.

"Law-enforcement agencies will have free access to a central resource to check on equipment ownership and assist rightful owners in its recovery. Insurers will be able to recover a higher percentage of equipment that has been reported lost or stolen, detect fraudulent claims, and deter theft. And, equipment owners can reduce insurance costs and other expenses associated with theft," Shillingford added.

The NER database will provide information in response to loss, theft and claims inquiries on stolen equipment by lessors, insurers and law enforcement agencies. Only participating entities will have access to the National Equipment Register database to ensure confidentiality and privacy of the database's information.

By serving as a central repository, National Equipment Register will be able to verify ownership; ensure used-equipment purchasers and their lenders have a clean title to the equipment; as well as help insurers, equipment owners, lessors, and law enforcement agencies identify and recover stolen equipment.

About Insurance Services Office

ISO is a leading source of information, products and services related to property and liability risk. For a broad spectrum of commercial and personal lines of insurance, ISO provides statistical, actuarial, underwriting and claims information and analyses; consulting and technical services; policy language; and information about specific locations. In the United States and around the world, ISO serves insurers and reinsurers, as well as agents, brokers, self-insureds, risk managers, insurance regulators and other government agencies.

About National Equipment Register

Created in 1999, National Equipment Register's mission is to identify and return lost and stolen equipment to owners and insurers in North America, provide a system of due diligence in the used-equipment market to determine whether equipment for sale has been stolen, and deter the trade in stolen equipment.

Release: Immediate

Contacts:
Giuseppe Barone / Erica Helton
MWW Group (for ISO)
201-507-9500
gbarone@mww.com / ehelton@mww.com

David Shillingford (National Equipment Register)
212-297-0941

dshillingford@alrny.com