Car insurance firms are paying out for stolen vehicles at the highest quarterly rate since 2012.
Right across the UK it seems like crime is spiralling out of control and car owners are bearing the brunt.
Gone are the days where South Africa seems like the car-jacking capital of the world.
Moped gangs tearing around London, savvy scammers figure out how to open your keyless car while you sleep peacefully, and brazen criminals are arguably more willing than ever to simply break into your house and nab the keys themselves.
Research from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) shows that 16,000 claims for stolen cars and items inside them were settled in the first quarter of 2019 – a 2000-claim increase compared to last year, and the highest recorded figure since 2012.
The amount insurers paid in claims was also up 22% on the first quarter of last year, reaching a total of £108m and working out at £1.2m paid out in claims every day.
The issue is, this will probably mean insurance premiums go up as well.
Laurenz Gerger, motor insurance policy adviser for the ABI, said: “The continued growth in car crime must be reversed.
“Car security has come on leaps and bounds but needs to keep pace with the ingenuity of car criminals.
“The rising number of theft claims being paid by insurers in part reflects the vulnerability of some cars to keyless relay theft.
