Does your client know their car is at a high risk for theft?

Canada’s P&C insurance industry is urging drivers to lower their own risk while it contends with high auto theft losses across the country. The problem is, 40% of drivers don’t know if they’re driving a high-risk vehicle, according to a recent LowestRates survey.  

This leaves brokers with the opportunity to tell their clients their car is at high risk of theft. 

Only 12.5% of respondents knew they were driving high-risk vehicles, while 41% knew their car model was not at high risk of theft, according to the survey of 448 Ontario drivers.  

Ontario and Quebec continue to see the highest rates of auto theft, according to Équité  Association’s latest figures.  

Auto theft in Ontario increased by 31% year-over-year in the first half of 2023, and by 17% in Quebec. 

The Top 5 stolen cars across Canada are the Honda CR-V (2016-21), Lexus RX series (2016-21), Ford F-150 series (2015-20), Honda Civic (2016-21), and the Toyota Highlander series (2013-19), according to Équité. 

Many of the cars on the most-stolen list also happen to be widely driven. For example, the Honda CR-V,  Honda Civic and Ford F-150 were among the most popular cars purchased in Canada in 2022. 

Unfortunately, the national vehicle recovery rate is 57% — even lower in Ontario and Quebec, at 46% and 38% respectively — according to Équité. 

That means the first line of defense against theft happens when drivers take matters into their own hands. Products like steering wheel locks, cameras or GPS tracking systems can be installed by drivers to deter theft.  

However, a full 37% of drivers said they had not taken any precautions to keep their cars from being stolen.  

Of those who used anti-theft devices, 12% opted to install security cameras, and 4% owned Faraday pouches, which block criminals from using radio frequencies to unlock car doors. Nearly 10% had steering wheel locks, and 7% used a GPS tracker. Eleven percent used a combination of devices.   

With that, some insurers have begun introducing surcharges for vehicles at a high risk of theft, which can be mitigated if clients opt to install an anti-theft tracking device. According to LowestRates, 6.5% of drivers received a surcharge from their insurer, to which 2.5% opted to simply pay the surcharge.  

Feature image by iStock.com/Olga Kurbatova