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Introduction: |
A vehicle is stolen every 20 seconds in the United
States. No vehicle or anti-theft device is 100% theft-proof, and
discouraging thieves is not an easy task. A thief's greatest enemy
is time. The more difficult your car is to steal, the longer it
takes to be stolen. And the more time a thief has to spend stealing
your car, the greater the chance of detection. By making your
car a tougher target, the thief will probably move on to a car
that is easier to steal.
After falling 31 percent from 1991 to 1999, U.S. motor vehicle
thefts rose 0.7 percent to in 2000, compared with 1999, and 5.7
percent in 2001 to total 1,226,457. In 2001, the value of stolen
motor vehicles was $8.2 billion, up 5.1 percent from 2000. Preliminary
data show another increase 1.2 percent in 2002.
Insurance for theft is included in the comprehensive part of an
auto insurance policy. This coverage, which is not mandatory,
also covers fire, vandalism and weather-related damage. Premiums
are affected by the number of insured cars stolen and their value.
The dollar size of claims has been going up, reflecting the higher
value of new cars on the road, the cost of vehicle bodywork, which
rose 2.4 percent in 2002 compared with 2001, and a 1999 Illinois
court decision that led many insurers to stop using generic auto
parts. |
Key Facts |
Only 13.6 percent of thefts were cleared by arrests
in 2001. |
Carjackings occur most frequently in urban areas.
However, nationwide, they account for only 3.5 percent of all
motor vehicle thefts. |
The U.S. average comprehensive insurance premium
rose 5.6 percent from 1997 to 2001, the most recent data available.
Current Developments |
Thefts
By City |
According to a National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB)
study released in June 2003, nine of the top 10 U.S. metropolitan
areas for vehicle theft rates in 2002 are in or near ports or
communities with easy access to Mexican or Canadian borders, as
shown below:
1. Phoenix, AZ 6. Miami, FL
2. Fresno, CA 7. Sacramento, CA
3. Modesto, CA 8. Oakland, CA
4. Stockton-Lodi, CA 9. Seattle WA
5. Las Vegas, NV 10. Tacoma, WA
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