Editor's Note: As part of a new editorial approach, Claims will begin offering first-run, feature-length articles on our web site and in e-News before they appear in our monthly print issue. These articles will be clearly marked and are intended to expand the editorial breadth of the magazine while at the same time delivering even more useful and educational insights to our readers courtesy of experts in the field. We hope you find this extended coverage helpful.

Following Hurricane Katrina, construction equipment theft increased 22 percent in the Gulf region from the end of August to November 2005. As a result of the extensive flooding in and around Iowa this June, mounting evidence indicates a growth in equipment theft in the flooded region. And on Sept. 20, 2008, a large multi-quip, trailer-mounted diesel generator was stolen in the Houston area. More such thefts are expected in the wake of Hurricane Ike.

The reason for such trends is fairly straightforward. Equipment theft is higher where there is more equipment, particularly where demand is higher than supply. A huge surge in demand for equipment is usually caused by the immediate need for power generation, man-lifts, and equipment to rebuild an area. Sometimes the equipment is stolen out of need. In other cases, thieves are looking to take advantage of an area's surge in demand for equipment at a time when law enforcement resources are primarily engaged in immediate public safety activities and thus less able to prevent or investigate equipment theft.