Basing on the number of claims processed by different car insurance providers, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB) recently released new estimate into the number of vehicles damaged by Superstorm Sandy that hit the United States on October last year, to be now at the 250,000 mark.

Among the states greatly devastated by the superstorm, New York has most numbers of damaged vehicles with estimates of around 150,000. On the second spot is the state of New Jersey with 60,000, and Connecticut with 8,000.

The states of Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia have estimates of 5,500, 5,000, and 4,500 respectively, while both Ohio and Pennsylvania have estimates of 4,000 each. Delaware and New Hamsphire has 2,000 each, while North Carolina had 1,500 damaged vehicles.

The District of Colombia, Rhode Island, and West Virginia have set estimates at 1,000 each, while Vermont and Maine only have 500 estimated vehicles damaged by Sandy.

However, these estimates may still change as there are still claims that are being received and processed. And it is also important to note that these figures only come from those insured vehicles. We know that there are a lot of vehicles out there that are not insured and were also damaged by the superstorm.

Though the sale of flood-damaged vehicles is not illegal, NCIB reiterates that consumers must be aware of the vehicles’ status before buying it. NCIB warned that there severely damaged vehicles that may be brought on sale without any indication it was damaged from the catastrophe.

Damages from flooded vehicles can be in any extent from scratches, dents, or other damages that a vehicle can have after being submerged in water and with many debris flowing and floating around.

Many of the Sandy-damaged vehicles have already been processed, reconditioned and now being sold in the market and the risks of unsuspecting consumers buying flooded vehicles without the knowledge of it is high.