| Insurance Auto Auction, established in 1982, has | | | | incentive to obtain the highest price for their primary |
| developed into a foremost head in automotive | | | | clients, the insurance companies. This is why the |
| recovery business and a leader in providing entirety | | | | vehicles are sometimes auctioned off for less than |
| loss asserts services. | | | | 50% of their current market value. |
| Salvage auto auctioneers like Insurance Auto Auction | | | | In 1991, Insurance Auto Auction inaugurated its |
| typically obtain their cars from insurance companies | | | | "CarCrush" and "TitleTrac" anti-fraud programs. |
| looking to recoup their losses on cars that have been | | | | Though most wrecked vehicles have some intrinsic |
| totaled in an accident or natural disaster as well as | | | | value, some are so badly damaged that only one tiny |
| some vehicles that were stolen and recovered after a | | | | bit retains its worth: the vehicle identification number. |
| settlement was made with the insured. Historically, the | | | | Auto theft rings often purchase these otherwise |
| auctioneer makes money on the transaction by | | | | useless heaps, steal an identical but operational vehicle |
| charging sellers a flat consignment fee of $50 to $150 | | | | and then apply the totaled car's VIN and title to the |
| per vehicle to cover services like towing, assessment, | | | | stolen auto. Insurance Auto Auction's "CarCrush" |
| title processing, and storage. After the sale, buyers | | | | program advised insurance companies to take useless |
| often paid for the same services. But this modus | | | | vehicles' VINs out of circulation by demolishing these |
| operandi had a serious flaw: it cast auctioneers as | | | | total losses. "TitleTrac" monitored buyers' auto trading |
| disinterested parties to the transaction, with no | | | | habits for telltale signs of unscrupulous deals. |