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Insurance claims for car theft rose 22% in the first quarter of 2019, prompting calls for insurers to offer greater incentives to car owners to fit additional security features.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed that its members paid out £108m in stolen vehicle claims in the first three months of the year, while figures from the Home Office record a 50% rise in vehicle thefts over the last five years, which it says is in part being driven by keyless car crime.

Laurenz Gerger, ABI motor insurance policy adviser, 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. Action by motor manufacturers to tackle this high-tech vulnerability, allied with owners taking some simple, inexpensive precautions will help put the brakes on this unwelcome trend.’

Nearly half of vehicles without a tracking device that are stolen are never recovered. This compares to an 88% recovery rate of vehicles fitted with Tracker devices.

Clive Wain, head of police liaison at Tracker, added, ‘If more cars were fitted with stolen vehicle recovery devices, we’d see a reduction in the volume and cost of insurance claims, because more vehicles would be recovered. If consumers were offered greater incentives to fit additional security measures, such as financial savings on their premiums, not only would claims fall, but the cost of insurance premiums could fall for everyone.  It’s a win-win all round.’

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