According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, car theft costs Canadians close to $1 billion annually. Insurance companies swallow a large chunk of that, with the cost to fix or replace stolen vehicles estimated at over $500 million annually, for the industry.
With car theft on the rise, here are a few things to consider.
3 Ways to Help Combat Vehicle Theft
Always lock your vehicle.
Even if you’re just running into the store for ‘’two minutes’’, it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you have a newer vehicle, and your car is started by a button or remote, that doesn’t mean your vehicle is safe from criminals.
For as advanced and as smart as the technology in vehicles is, many criminals, unfortunately, are just as advanced and smart.
Report suspicious behaviour.
If you notice a person – be it in your neighbourhood, in the parking lot or wherever you are – snooping around vehicles in the area, call the police!
Know your vehicle.
When you’re purchasing your new or new-to-you vehicle, make sure you check to see if it’s a) often targeted for theft, and b) what deterrents the car has to lower the likelihood of it being stolen.
Top 10 Stolen Vehicle in Canada
- 2007 Ford F350 SD 4WD
- 2006 Ford F350 SD 4WD
- 2005 Ford F350 SD 4WD
- 2004 Ford F350 SD 4WD
- 2003 Ford F350 SD 4WD
- 2015 Toyota 4Runner 4DR 4WD
- 2003 Cadillac Escalade 4DR 4WD
- 2002 Ford F350 SD 4WD
- 2006 Ford F250 SD 4WD
- 2010 Acura ZDX 4DR AWD
Source: Insurance Bureau of Canada
Average Annual Insurance Premiums in Canada
- Ontario ($5,567)
- Alberta ($2,897)
- Prince Edward Island ($1,937)
- Newfoundland ($1,933)
- Nova Scotia ($1,887)
- New Brunswick ($1,849)
- British Columbia ($1,717)
- Quebec ($1,364)
- Manitoba ($1,211)
- Saskatchewan ($1,163)
Source: Insurance Business Magazine
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Car Theft in Ontario
Ontarians pay the highest car insurance premiums, by far, in Canada.
Other factors (fraud and population density, to name a couple) also contribute to the high cost of insuring a vehicle in Ontario, but theft plays a major role.
More vehicles on the road means more opportunities for theft – and criminals are capitalizing. More vehicles were stolen last year in Ontario than any other province.
Car Theft in Alberta
Ontario may have seen the highest number of vehicles stolen last year, but Alberta holds the dubious title of highest theft rate per capita in Canada in 2016.
Metro News, with information provided by the IBC, discovered 3,900 vehicles disappeared without a trace in the Wild Rose province last year. With the average cost to replace a vehicle coming in at over $20,000, that’s nearly $80,000,000 of vehicle replacement costs annually put on the shoulders of Albertans and insurers in Alberta.
This high theft rate directly contributes to Albertans paying the 2nd-highest insurance premiums in Canada.
