Insurance Services Office announced it has launched a new service to help auto junkyards comply with federal regulations to keep track of vehicle titles and also report under the Cash for Clunkers program.

Jersey City, N.J.-based ISO said use of its system will help automobile recyclers, dismantlers, shredders and salvage yards meet the new U.S. Department of Justice requirement to report salvage vehicles to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) as well as Cash for Clunkers reporting rules.

ISO noted that the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System was established by the Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992 to assist in efforts to prevent the introduction or reintroduction of stolen and salvaged motor vehicles into interstate commerce.

NMVTIS, said ISO, is intended to provide authorized recipients with instant and reliable access to motor vehicle titling information maintained by the states.

In January 2009, the Department of Justice issued a final rule implementing requirements for reporting information on salvage vehicles to NMVTIS. Under the rule, recyclers, dismantlers, shredders and junk yards must report the intake, as well as the disposition, of salvage vehicles to NMVTIS.

ISO said it has been designated as an authorized data consolidator by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the operator of NMVTIS.

The company said insurers, salvage companies, recyclers and junk yards can comply with the NMVTIS requirements by reporting the required data to ISO’s insurance claims database service, ISO ClaimSearch, and ISO ClaimSearch will report to NMVTIS on their behalf as required.

ISO ClaimSearch is a claims database that represents most automobile insurers and is used by insurance industry personnel, law enforcement, and other parties involved in the investigation of vehicle-related crimes and insurance claims fraud.

ISO said ClaimSearch offers several reporting options. In conjunction with the National Salvage Vehicle Reporting Program (NSVRP), ISO is also working with several automotive recycling software vendors to support the NMVTIS reporting capability for the recycler and shredder community.

Reporting to NMVTIS through ISO ClaimSearch can also meet the reporting obligations of the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) Act of 2009, Cash for Clunkers program.

The Department of Transportation published regulations on July 24 that require entities receiving motor vehicles traded-in under Cash for Clunkers to report certain information about those vehicles to NMVTIS. The reporting obligations pursuant to the CARS regulations are separate from those contained in the NMVTIS regulations.

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