In early November, a group of people gathered in a criticalswing state on Election Day to discuss an important issue thataffects their businesses, the community, and the Americaneconomy.

Of course, we speak of heavy equipment theft.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation-Law Enforcement ExecutiveDevelopment Associations (FBI-LEEDA), the National Insurance CrimeBureau (NICB), the National Equipment Register (NER), and theCincinnati Police Department joined forces to stage a one-dayregional summit in Southwest Ohio, where experts on the topic ofheavy equipment theft held a series of conversations and lecturesgeared towards law enforcement, equipment owners and dealers,insurance adjusters, and underwriters.

David Shillingford, president of the NER, served as the generalsession's emcee, examining the equipment-theft problem, thechallenges of recovering heavy equipment, and potential solutionsto quelling the rash of heavy equipment theft.

Shillingford estimated that equipment theft is a $1 billion ayear problem, an estimate that does not factor in income lost frombusiness slowdowns due to equipment theft.

The participants were later split into two groups — lawenforcement and equipment owners/insurers — and were providedinstruction in equipment identification training, as well asexamining theft prevention strategies and how to increase thechances of recovering stolen equipment.

The sponsors of the summit said that they hoped that exploringthe growing problem of construction and agricultural equipmenttheft and the challenges that hinder equipment recovery would makeattendees better prepared to join the fight against equipment theftand insurance fraud.

The NER officials stressed the dramatic financial loss insurerssuffer due to the theft of insured equipment. Reports to InsuranceServices Office (ISO) show an increase of up to 20 percent in thevalue of equipment thefts every year since 1996, and show theft asthe most common cause of loss for heavy equipment — more than 50percent of all causes of loss. Inland Marine theft losses alonereported to ISO in 1999 were more than $120 million. Even moreworrisome is that only 10-15 percent of stolen heavy equipment isever recovered.

For more information about heavy equipment theft geared towardsclaim professionals, click here.