Canada’s auto theft crisis seems to be getting worse, with new information from Insurance coverage Bureau of Canada (IBC) displaying auto theft claims topping $1 billion for the second year in a row.
In 2023, the price of insurance coverage claims for changing stolen automobiles in Canada skyrocketed to a record-breaking $1.5 billion, in keeping with IBC information launched Thursday. That’s up from an estimated $1.2 billion in 2022.
“To place this into perspective, between 2018 and 2021, auto theft claims prices averaged $556 million yearly,” IBC says in a press launch.
The most recent numbers present the depth of the problem affecting Canadians in addition to the heavy burden on legislation enforcement and courtroom personnel to deal with these crimes, says Liam McGuinty, IBC’s vp of technique.
“Canada’s auto theft disaster can also be putting pressure on drivers’ insurance premiums — as auto theft continues to extend, so do the related prices,” McGuinty says. “Auto theft just isn’t a victimless crime.”
Nationally, auto theft claims prices elevated 254% between 2018 and 2023. Auto theft losses in 2023 reached almost $1.55 billion, a rise of almost 20% from 2022, the year that held the previous record.
The issue is most important in Ontario, the place auto theft claims prices elevated a staggering 524% between 2018 and 2023. “IBC will likely be releasing province-specific information on auto theft claims prices within the coming weeks,” the affiliation experiences.
Complete nationwide auto theft insurance coverage claims reached almost 50,000 final 12 months, up from greater than 45,000 in 2022, IBC information present. The rise between 2018 and 2023 was 56%.
New, high-end luxurious automobiles are sometimes profitable targets, due partially to their desirability in worldwide underground resale markets. In lots of instances, stolen vehicles are exported to those markets by home and worldwide legal organizations. The proceeds are then used to finance drug trafficking, arms offers and worldwide terrorism, IBC experiences.
“Regardless of vital federal and provincial investments aimed toward mitigating the disaster, this new information suggests extra motion should be taken to make automobiles harder to steal, transport and export,” IBC says. “To that finish, IBC has been calling for quick motion to cease stolen automobiles from being shipped overseas and to stop automobiles from being stolen within the first place.”
McGuinty reiterates the necessity for a ‘whole-of-society’ method to tackling auto theft.
“IBC acknowledges the efforts undertaken by governments up to now to combat auto theft, however extra must be executed, together with on the nationwide degree,” he says. “Consideration must be paid to modernizing Canada’s outdated automobile security requirements, which had been final up to date in 2007, and stopping the outflow of stolen automobiles from Canada’s ports.”
IBC says it’s trying ahead to the vital subsequent steps within the federal authorities’s motion plan to fight auto theft, in addition to working alongside all ranges of presidency.
In February, the federal authorities concluded the Nationwide Summit on Combatting Auto Theft with a dedication to develop a detailed plan in the winter.
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