Automobile theft cost us all, puts upward pressure on insurance premiums

Motorists who have comprehensive, or "other-than-collision," insurance on their automobiles can generally rest assured that their cars will be covered if it is stolen. Being without your car causes many headaches. You have to find another way to get to work, to school, a friend's house or running errands. Then, of course, there's the chore of shopping for a new car.

One of the worst aspects of automobile theft is the pressure it puts on insurance premiums. A Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF) study estimates that all kinds of insurance fraud costs Americans $308.6 billion annually.

Automobile thefts make up $7.4 billion of that total.

Automobile theft is not insurance fraud, unless the car owner participates in the crime. But it does contribute to rising insurance premiums.

CAIF mentioned some FBI statistics in its study:

There were 810,400 vehicles stolen in 2020, the highest number reported stolen since 2008, when 959,059 were stolen. (The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – or NHTSA – noted that automobile thefts had risen to 850,000 by 2024.)The number of automobile thefts increased in 2020 from the previous year by 11.8% (724,872).The average dollar cost per theft was $9,166.The rate of motor vehicle thefts in 2020 was 246 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest rate since 2009 (259).

Many key factors contributed to the rise in vehicle thefts: The pandemic, the economic downturn, owner complacency, loss of juvenile outreach programs and limitations on public safety budgets.

To help prevent automobile thefts, the NHTSA recommends some commonsense steps to take when parking and exiting your vehicle:

Take your vehicle's key. Do not leave it in or on your vehicle.Close and lock all windows and doors when you park.Park in well-lit areas if possible.Never leave valuables in your vehicle, especially if they can be seen from the outside.

In 2020, North Carolina ranked 10th in the nation in automobile thefts, with 20,520 vehicles stolen that year. It's not all that surprising that we're in the top 10 since North Carolina is the ninth most populous state in the nation.

California is the state with the most vehicle thefts, followed by Texas, Florida, Colorado, Washington, Georgia, Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee.

Trucks took the top two spots for most stolen vehicles. The Ford full-size and Chevrolet full-size pickups were Nos. 1 and 2, followed by the Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, GMC full-size pickup, Toyota Corolla, Honda CR-V and Dodge full-size pickup.

A number of factors are putting upward pressure on automobile insurance premiums. These include bad driving habits such as distracted driving, impaired driving and the cost of repairs.

Crimes such as fraud and theft also make it difficult to hold down the cost of insurance premiums.