NEW YORK, N.Y., August 14 – The National Equipment Register (NER), which describes itself as a database of construction and farm equipment theft and ownership data, has expanded its database to record and monitor losses from equipment damage. NER said this new service will allow it to use its search technology to detect fraudulent claims for damaged equipment, in addition to identifying fraudulent theft reports.

NER has also added a service that records stolen product identification number (PIN) plates. This lets NER detect a stolen machine that has been given the identity of another machine through the theft of its PIN plate.

Additionally, NER said it has launched a service called IRONcheckSM, which enables buyers of used equipment to conduct due diligence through NER prior to the purchase of used equipment, increasing recoveries and making it riskier for equipment thieves to sell stolen equipment.

Michael St. Hill, NERs director of insurance services, explained that NER has proved the value of creating a single point of contact for police to identify stolen equipment 24 hours a day. It is now time to expand the concept to increase the benefits of our services to member insurers.

Citing an early success, St. Hill said that the new combination of expanded services recently resulted in the identification of a Bobcat 863 skid steer loader at an equipment auction in Olympia, Washington, that had been retagged using a stolen PIN plate. The stolen PIN plate had been reported to the NER database. The proceeds from the sale of the machine went to the NER member insurer that had paid a claim on the stolen machine in 2002.