Motorists Warned as Thieves Look for Easy Targets

Let’s face it; it is easy to get complacent. We regularly use our cars and whilst we might make sure they are properly secure and personal items are not left on display, we can sometimes forget or feel too comfortable that nothing bad will happen. read more »

2009 Study Highlights Thieves Targeting top-end Cars

Thieves targeting motor vehicles are stepping up their efforts to steal top of the range motor vehicles, according to LV= Car Insurance.

Their study also highlights the areas of the country that are most likely to see people becoming the victims of car theft. These are, perhaps unsurprisingly, all large cities.

In the last five years, there has been a decrease in the age of the car that is most likely to be stolen, with thieves targeting eight years old cars as opposed to ten year old vehicles five years ago.

LV= sourced their data from claims made by people with motor insurance, with other figures relating to the British Crime Survey of 2007 and 2008, which showed that less cars were stolen during this period than the one before, with an 11% decrease shown.

However, in general, LV= claims that their data shows an increase in the size of the claims made between January and May 2009 in comparison to the same time span in 2008. The increase amounted to 38%, which rose to 44% when compared to 2007.

As a result, John O’Rourke, Managing Director of LV= Car Insurance issued some advice: “Our data indicates that motorists need to take extra care if they drive a car that may be particularly attractive to thieves.

“Having an immobiliser or tracker device fitted, and ensuring the car is kept in a locked garage will not only keep your insurance premium down but will help towards keeping the car safe.”

He also highlights one of the reasons why such top of the line cars are being targeted: “It would appear that the cars that are being stolen are specifically targeted by thieves who will often break into the owners property to steal the keys.  Many of these cars are then exported to be sold overseas.  Owners of top-end vehicles, like Porsches, BMWs and Jaguars need to be even more vigilant to keep their cars safe.”

Car owners are most likely to have their car stolen in cities such as London, which came out as the most likely city to experience such crime, followed by Manchester, then Cardiff, Leeds and Birmingham.

It shows that people need to take greater steps to protect their cars, or else face the consequences of an increased motor insurance premium.

Source: LV= Press Release July 2009