As car theft decelerates, insurance claims are down in Canada

With vehicle thefts gradually decelerating successful Canada, security claims and costs are besides connected the decline.

New information by the Insurance Bureau of Canada released Wednesday showed that successful the archetypal six months of the year, determination were 17,647 security claims for auto theft, a 19 per cent alteration erstwhile compared with 2023.

Across the country, car theft claims from January until June amounted to much than $544 million, down by astir 29 per cent comparative to the aforesaid play past year.

This comes arsenic the number of conveyance thefts dropped by 17 per cent successful the archetypal fractional of the year, according to a erstwhile study by the non-profit Équité Association.

Increased investments, nationalist consciousness and information-sharing person helped reverse the inclination of car theft, according to Équité.

“Concerted actions by instrumentality enforcement, insurers, governments and drivers to combat theft are showing results, but much remains to beryllium done,” said Liam McGuinty, vice-president of strategy astatine IBC, successful a statement.

Despite the dip seen this year, car theft claims and counts inactive stay supra “historical levels,” IBC reported.

In the past 10 years, car theft claims person gone up by 138 per cent and the worth of those claims has surged by 442 per cent.

McGuinty said this is putting upward unit connected drivers’ security premiums, portion besides compromising nationalist safety.

“While theft frequence dropped somewhat successful the archetypal six months of 2024, the occupation remains importantly supra humanities trends,” helium added.

As the contented persists, experts accidental that drivers are apt to continue feeling the pinch connected their security premiums.

In a Ratehub.ca survey successful May, astir fractional (48 per cent) of respondents said they’ve faced a “significant” summation successful car security premiums recently.

IBC looked astatine information from Ontario, Quebec, Alberta arsenic good arsenic the Atlantic provinces.

Its investigation did not see information for Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia since it was unavailable.

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Among the provinces included, Quebec saw the largest driblet (44 per cent) successful the fig of security claims for car theft, followed by Ontario astatine 16 per cent.

In Nova Scotia, the claims really went up by 27 per cent, arsenic they did successful New Brunswick by 14 per cent, arsenic good arsenic Alberta reporting a 0.7 per cent rise.

This mirrors the Équité information which showed an 11 per cent leap successful conveyance theft for Atlantic provinces.

“Experts recognition these determination differences to the opportunistic quality of car thieves, who whitethorn beryllium shifting their absorption distant from provinces similar Ontario and Quebec, wherever instrumentality enforcement has invested importantly successful combatting car theft, toward occidental and Atlantic provinces,” IBC said.

Over the past year, the national government, on with instrumentality enforcement agencies, borderline officials and different manufacture stakeholders, person stepped up efforts to curb conveyance theft successful the country.

A nationalist summit on combatting car theft was held successful Ottawa successful February to code the problem.

The national authorities unveiled an enactment program successful May, including measures and backing announced successful the weeks since the acme was held.

It besides featured changes to the Criminal Code, specified arsenic stiffer penalties and caller offences targeting car thieves and the devices they use, that were included successful the latest national budget.

Transport Canada is presently carrying retired an unfastened consultation to reappraisal and modernize the existent standards that vehicles that are manufactured oregon sold successful Canada are expected to adhere to.

In summation to updating Canada’s centrifugal conveyance information standards, the IBC is urging contiguous enactment to stop stolen vehicles from being shipped overseas with tighter export regulations and amended screening astatine ports.

— with files from Global News’ Craig Lord