Increase In Car Thefts

You may be interested to read that, according to information obtained by RAC Insurance, the number of car thefts in England and Wales has risen by a considerable number in the last three years. There are various things that impact upon how much insurers charge for motor insurance and one of those is the number of claims that they receive from people who have had their vehicles stolen and, as a result, damaged or never recovered.

Across 40 police forces, in 2013, there were 65,783 vehicles reported as having been stolen. In 2016 there were 85,688 vehicles reported as stolen. That is an increase of 30.2% and we are sure you will agree that is a huge rise and is most concerning.

One would have thought that as so many vehicles are now fitted with security devises such as alarms, immobilisers and tracking devices that these features would deter car thieves from breaking into vehicles and driving off in them. However, perhaps the car thief is able to find a way around such security devices.

London had more car thefts than any other area with the West Midlands being in second place followed by West Yorkshire in third place and Greater Manchester in fourth place and Essex in fifth place. Presumably, the car insurance premiums for those car owners living in London and the other locations mentioned above reflect the above.

Obviously, it is important that motorists do all that they can to deter thieves from breaking into their motor vehicles so having one or more of the above devices fitted and having things like a steering wheel lock attached that is a visible deterrent are potentially beneficial. Other things such as putting your car in the garage at night or leaving it on the drive or parking it under a street light at night may reduce the possibility of your car being stolen.

Unfortunately, if your car is stolen this could result in the cost of your car insurance rising which is something that you could well do without.