Car Thieves Favor Foreign Car

Car thieves have strong preferences. They prefer stealing imports rather than domestic models, according to the newly released car theft study of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).

The NICB reviewed auto theft data reported to the West Virginia-based National Crime Information Center and from that information developed this list of the make, model, and model year of the most reported stolen vehicles in 2004.

Top Ten Most Stolen Vehicles, 2004

1. 1995 Honda Civic
2. 1989 Toyota Camry
3. 1991 Honda Accord
4. 1994 Dodge Caravan
5. 1994 Chevrolet Full Size C/K 1500 Pickup
6. 1997 Ford F150 Series
7. 2003 Dodge Ram Pickup
8. 1990 Acura Integra
9. 1988 Toyota Pickup
10. 1991 Nissan Sentra

In 2004, 1,237,114 motor vehicles were reported stolen, representing a drop of 23,357 vehicles from 2003. Overall in the United States, motor vehicle theft fell by 1.9 percent from the previous year.

According to NICB Chief Executive Officer, Robert M. Bryant, while this slight decrease in theft is a positive sign, there is still work to be done. "Now, all of us in the fight against vehicle theft and insurance fraud must ensure that we continue the momentum and bring this national crime problem under control," said Bryant, president and chief executive officer of the NICB, an Illinois-headquartered organization that focuses on combating insurance fraud and vehicle theft.

NICB's latest report follows one it did earlier in 2005 on identifying the U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest auto-theft rates for 2004. California holds the dubious distinction of having seven of the 10 metropolitan areas with the highest auto-theft rates.

The NICB points out that the metropolitan area of Modesto, California, heads the list for the second straight year. The report is based on an analysis of statistics collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 336 metropolitan areas in the U.S.

Metropolitan Areas with Highest Vehicle Theft Rates, 2004
(2003 placement in parenthesis)

1. Modesto, CA (1)
2. Stockton-Lodi, CA (3)
3. Las Vegas, NV (4)
4. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ (2)
5. Sacramento, CA (5)
6. Oakland, CA (7)
7. Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA (15)
8. San Diego, CA (9)
9. Fresno, CA (6)
10. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA (11)

The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) reports a disturbing trend, indicating that insurance claims for stolen cars are experiencing the biggest increase in port areas. The hardest hit locales include New York, Miami and in Southern California (San Diego and Los Angeles), confirms Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president for HLDI in Arlington, Va.

Adds Hazelbaker: "The new Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator and other high-dollar SUVs are becoming a very popular theft target for organized car theft rings, because this has become an extremely lucrative business for them. They have the stolen cars loaded into containers for shipping on land and sea to Third World countries. In the post 9/11 era, cargo inspectors at the major ports tend to focus most of their energy on goods coming into the country, and maybe a bit less on what's going out."

Your Car Has Been Stolen? Insurance Companies Offer Advice

In the unfortunate event that your car gets stolen, there is sage insurance advice being offered by Carolyn Gorman, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute (III), a nonprofit insurance information organization in New York, and Sam Sorich, president of the Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC).

Gorman calls on drivers to be prepared in the event their car gets stolen. She suggests that "you'll have already taken proper steps to ensure you have suitable insurance as well as having obtained the information you'll need to contact the police department for filing reports and for notifying your insurance company to begin the claims process."

"Many consumers who shop for the lowest auto insurance rates fail to consider some inexpensive options that can save them a lot of money down the road," reveals Gorman, citing replacement rental car coverage as an example, pointing out that it costs "only a couple dollars a month." Under normal circumstances, renting a car for one day "can cost more than a full-year of auto rental coverage."

She notes that most insurance companies wait an average of two to four weeks if the stolen car is not found before authorizing the purchase of a new car, so the victim could end up paying as much as $1,000 to rent a car during the interim if they don't have rental car replacement coverage.

Gorman urges auto insurance customers "to review their policies once a year to make sure they will cover your needs if your vehicle is stolen or damaged in a crash."

ACIC's Sam Sorich notes that "insurers play a vital role in combating vehicle thefts. Insurance companies have staffs that are dedicated to investigating theft claims." Sorich calls on drivers to support insurance company efforts by taking simple but effective steps, notably securing their vehicles. "Lock your cars, install anti-theft devices, and leave nothing in the car that might attract thieves such as purses or wallets."

Tips to Prevent Car Theft
Worried about the possibility of your car being stolen? If so, the National Insurance Crime Bureau urges you to follow a "layered approach" to auto theft protection by employing the following steps:

1. Common Sense:
   Deploy the cheapest, most basic form of defense … lock your car and take your keys.
2. Warning Device:
   Use a visible or audible warning device/alarm system that can help ensure that your car remains where you left it.
3. Immobilizing Device:
   Keep a would-be thief from staring or taking your car by using "kill" switches, fuel cut-offs, and smart keys. They are among the devices which are high and low tech, but extremely effective.
4. Tracking Device:
   Consider the higher end of high tech tracking devices. These are among the newer devices available, and they can alert both you and law enforcement the moment an unauthorized user moves your vehicle.

Hybrid Cars Capture the Fancy of Some Drivers

A Mercury Insurance Co. marketing representative waxes enthusiastic about her Honda Civic, which shouldn't come as a great shock because, after all, it is a popular model, but Debbie Perea's car is quite different than most you see on America's roadways. Perea proudly drives a hybrid, a car that uses a combination of gas and electric power.

"I love it," Perea says about her 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid. "It's a great little car, and it definitely saves me money on my daily commute to and from work. I drive 20 miles each way, five days a week, and I spend $20 a week on gas. I drop about $50 every time I fill the tank on my Sequoia (Toyota SUV)."

Hybrid tradeoffs
However, there are tradeoffs with hybrids. Perea says her Hybrid doesn't take off quick, say, when entering freeway traffic. "But it gets up to the speed of freeway traffic pretty quickly. I don't mind giving up a little bit on a car's pep when I'm saving as much as I am at the gas pump. Gas prices have been going up and up, and there's no end in sight. So, I think that I'm coming out ahead by driving a hybrid. I don't see that many hybrids around when I'm driving, but I'm sure there will be a lot more out there on the roadways very soon."

Hybrids and Auto Insurance Rates
In terms of car insurance, Perea says she's paying about the same price for comp/collision protection on her hybrid as she is on her 1998 Honda Civic.

Perea's boss, Bruce Norman, said, "obviously we insure at least a few hybrids, including my secretary's, but so far there are relatively few of her type of car out there on the road today. I know Debbie sure likes her car. The numbers out there could increase in time. We'll know more in a few years in terms of how they gain in popularity and their insurance claims experience, but it's a little early at this point to give any hard and fast underwriting or claims opinions," said Norman, senior vice president of marketing, at Mercury's corporate headquarters in Brea, Calif.

Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in Arlington, Va., said only the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrids have enough data for IIHS to rank them in terms of losses, and both came out in 2004. "Right now, we would have to say they're a little better than other vehicles of similar size and type. People are willing to pay extra for the hybrid, so they might be a different breed of driver than those who are buying a gas-driven Civic that is less expensive," Hazelbaker said.

"That means that you've got a very select group buying hybrids," added Hazelbaker. "They might be driving differently than the average person and driving them in different settings, at different times and in different areas. These people are into fuel economy and may be more safety conscious than owners of more conventional cars. They're not going to be burning rubber down the streets of their neighborhood and driving aggressively on freeways. Therefore, they would presumably be better insurance risks than those who drive aggressively on America's roadways."

"I definitely believe that high technology vehicles including hybrids will change the landscape of the insurance market," said John Eager, senior director of claims services at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, in Des Plaines, Ill. "We're expecting to see a diminished frequency of claims as high technology vehicles including hybrids continues to improve over time."

Eager cited another impact of hybrid vehicles and other technology. "I anticipate an increase in severity of physical damage claims. When a hybrid car gets into an accident or any car with high technology for that matter, you're going to have a greater chance of a total loss. The repair of hybrids is something that our organization and others in the industry are looking at."

A spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute offered no bold predictions on auto insurance premiums for hybrid owners. "It is just too early to tell what effect these hybrid vehicles will have on insurance premiums," says Carolyn Gorman. "If in the future, the loss history shows fewer claims, then premiums will be lower for these cars. If the opposite is true, then premiums would be higher."