Insurance Carriers

Auto Data Direct, Inc. (ADD) Contracts with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to provide insurance carriers the ability to upload “total loss” information into the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS).

NMVTIS serves as a repository of information on salvage vehicles, including those vehicles determined to be a "total loss." This repository is then used by states and consumers to ensure that salvage vehicles, including those vehicles determined to be a total loss by insurance carriers, are bought and sold with full disclosure.

NMVTIS also serves as a tool for insurance companies to investigate vehicle histories.

NMVTIS Reporting Requirements for Insurance Carriers and Self Insurers
Insurance companies and certain self-insurers must report monthly to NMVTIS on the junk and salvage automobiles they obtain. The Anti-Car Theft Act defines a salvage automobile as "an automobile that is damaged by collision, fire, flood, accident, trespass, or other event, to the extent that its fair salvage value plus the cost of repairing the automobile for legal operation on public streets, roads, and highways would be more than the fair market value of the automobile immediately before the event that caused the damage." The Department of Justice has also determined that this definition includes all automobiles found to be a total loss under the laws of the applicable state, or designated as a total loss by the insurance carrier under the terms of its policies, regardless of whether an insurance carrier retitles the vehicle into its name or allows the owner to retain the vehicle. The determination that "total loss" is included in the definition of salvage is to ensure that the reporting of salvage automobiles is comprehensive.

Insurance carriers are required to provide NMVTIS with the following information on every salvage vehicle obtained, including total loss vehicles:

• VIN
• Date upon which the automobile was obtained or designated as a total loss
• Name of the individual or entity from whom the automobile was obtained
• Who possessed the automobile when it was designated a total loss
• Name of the owner of the automobile at the time of the filing of the report with NMVTIS (either the insurance company or the owner, if owner-retained)

DOJ strongly encourages insurers to include the primary reason for the insurance carrier's designation of salvage or total loss in this reporting.

The report must provide information on all automobiles of the current model year or any of the four prior model years that the carrier, during the prior month, has obtained possession of and has decided are junk automobiles or salvage automobiles. DOJ strongly encourages carriers to immediately report (within 24 hours) the designation of a vehicle as total loss.

In addition, although not specifically required by the Anti-Car Theft Act, insurance carriers are strongly encouraged to provide the NMVTIS operator with information on other motor vehicles, including older model automobiles, and other information relevant to a motor vehicle's title, including the disposition of such automobiles, and the name of the individual or entity that takes possession of the vehicle. The reporting of this information by insurance carriers will help reduce instances in which thieves use the VINs of junk or salvage motor vehicles on stolen motor vehicles ("VIN cloning") and will assist in preventing and eliminating fraud. The Department of Justice strongly encourages insurance carriers to report such additional information to the operator.

NMVTIS Reporting Requirements and State Laws
The Department of Justice recognizes that many state laws have differing requirements and definitions of terms such as "salvage." The NMVTIS requirements do not alter these state laws and the state laws do not prevail over federal definitions and requirements. However, as stated in the NMVTIS regulations, a determination of total loss under a state law will trigger the requirement for an insurance company to report a total loss vehicle. The information reported to NMVTIS is not required to be used by any future state that titles a vehicle included in an insurance carrier report.

Reporting Methods
Insurance carriers can submit the required reports to NMVTIS through Auto Data Direct. ADD has designed its system to fit into the carrier's current business process by allowing for both individual vehicle and batch vehicle processing. Reporting can be as frequently as desired, but not less than monthly. The Department of Justice encourages all reporters to submit information to NMVTIS within 24 hours to prevent fraud and theft and to protect consumers. Once data is reported, ADD's system allows the carrier to generate proof of compliance through its easy-to-use interface.