Seasons brings their own special sets of concerns for drivers who worry about stolen cars.
In wintertime, it’s engines left running and “puffer” thefts.
At the height of summer, drivers should be wary of car thefts in general. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), July and August show the highest number of stolen cars compared to other months of the year.
And with July also being National Vehicle Theft Prevention Month, we at Online Auto Insurance (OAI) present the following updates and tips for policyholders who want to protect themselves against theft and what to do if a car has already been swiped.
Preliminary Car Theft Numbers Show Increase
This year’s month of awareness and prevention might be especially relevant, given that the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) recently reported preliminary nationwide theft figures that show an uptick in the number of stolen vehicles. It’s the first increase in years.
Drivers in the Golden State should be especially wary. The increase, as in most years, is concentrated in California, which has outpaced other states by far as a paradise for thieves: lots of cities, lots of land, and lots of cars to steal.
Adding to the problem, NICB spokesperson Frank Scafidi told OAI, are hard financial times that have hit law enforcement departments across the state.
Groups fighting car thefts in other states are also sounding the alarm. Michigan’s Help Eliminate Auto Thefts (H.E.A.T.) issued an advisory last month about the changing nature of car thefts.
With anti-theft technology taking a firmer hold on new car models, according to H.E.A.T., thieves are reverting to a tried-and-true crime: the carjacking.
Drivers should be aware of possible carjackings in parking lots and gas stations where the many instances of the crime occur, Terri Miller, executive director for H.E.A.T., told OAI.
Thieves Target More Than Just the Car Itself
But it’s not just the car itself that you could find gone.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) warns motorists that “thieves want parts and valuable items too.”
Popular targets include pricey parts like catalytic converters.
“Radios and wheel covers aren’t the only popular stolen vehicle parts thieves take,” DOT said on a theft prevention website. “They want whatever sells, from the mandated labeled parts to those that aren’t. Among some of the most popular parts or items left in vehicles are: engine, transmission, air bags, radios, GPS units, iPods, laptops, and purses.”
The Highway Loss Data Institute recently ranked the Ford F-250 as the vehicle model generating the most insurance theft claims, with some of the claims involving equipment nicked from the truck bed of F-250s.
Larger vehicle models, like sports utility and crossover utility vehicles, are also targets of thieves who steal their tailgates, according to another NICB report released this year.
Awareness, Insurance Tips After Theft
If you’re the unfortunate victim of a car theft, hopefully you have comprehensive coverage to protect you against the loss.
The Insurance Information Institute (III) estimates that more than 3 out of every 4 drivers has the valuable (yet optional) type of insurance coverage, which is considered useful because it protects against so many unlucky incidents that could befall your vehicle; theft is one of those incidents.
The NHTSA offered this what-to-do guide for those who find their car gone:
–File a stolen car report with police immediately, which will usually entail providing investigators: the license plate number, make, model and color of the car, vehicle identification number and “any identifying characteristics.”
–Within 24 hours, contact your insurer about the theft.
–Although only a little above half of stolen cars ultimately recovered, according to the NHTSA, the agency also says that those lucky enough to find their vehicle again after theft should contact their police department and insurer immediately.
Prevention Tips Against Theft
Building off of a prevention checklist from the NHTSA, OAI presents some of these obvious don’ts that every driver should heed:
–DO NOT leave your key, or any extra keys in or on your car.
–DO NOT leave any windows open.
–DO NOT park in dark areas.
–DO NOT leave valuables in the car, especially in open view.
–DO NOT leave your car while the engine is running.
–DO NOT leave your car without basic protection like a car alarm or immobilizing device.
Those tips might seem obvious, but the NHTSA reports that more than 4 out of every 10 stolen cars are because of simple driver errors like those listed above.
So don’t think that car thieves will simply overlook those simple mistakes — those mistakes are just the in that they’re looking for to nab your car.
