Highway Loss Data Institute report on insurance theft losses

Highway Loss Data Institute report on insurance theft losses

The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, released a report this week regarding insurance theft losses for 2007-2009 vehicles. Cadillac Escalade topped the list, with the Ford F-250 crew pickup, Infiniti G37 luxury car, the Dodge Charger with a HEMI engine, and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 completing the top five favorites among thieves.

Thieves are after chrome, horsepower, and HEMIs, said Kim Hazelback, senior vice president of HLDI. Sedate family cars and fuel sippers arent on the hot list, she said. The Volvo S80 has the lowest losses recorded, with the Saturn VUE 4WD, Toyota Prius, and the Mini Cooper also listed on the lowest losses list.

In order to determine which vehicles have the highest theft losses, HLDI considers not only how frequently a claim is filed, but also how high the cost of the payment for each claim is, which helps to explain why the highest overall theft losses are for SUVs and large pickups. Hazelback further added that even though Escalades have the latest immobilizer technology, thieves can still put them on flat beds and haul them away, which, unfortunately, leaves even some of the best protected vehicles vulnerable.

The good news? It seems that since 1998 the frequency of theft claims for cars and SUVS has declined, particularly for SUVS, which have declined from 4.9 claims per 1,000 in 1998, to 2.4 in 2008.

To see the full report from the Highway Loss Data Institute click on this link http://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4507.pdf.