Auto insurance agents as well as policyholders can benefit from information about what might make vehicles attractive for theft. According to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), would-be car and truck thieves tend to be attracted to vehicles that:
  • Are unlocked;
  • Have the keys inside;
  • Have open windows;
  • Are parked in places that are dark and quiet; or
  • Fail to have visible anti-theft devices such as a steering wheel or gearshift column locks.
But each auto theft is unique, so it's difficult to know whether these or other factors contributed to the $6 million lost to motor vehicle theft in 2018, according to I.I.I. and the FBI. Those agencies also reported that the average dollar loss per auto theft in 2018 was $8,407, and that motor vehicles were stolen at a rate of 228.9 per 100,000 people in 2018, which was down from 237.7 in 2017.

Shiny new toys

Although some crime prevention experts believe that car, truck and motorcycle thieves prefer older model vehicles because they can be easier to break into or jump-start than new cars packed with security devices and tracking technology, earlier this year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Highway Loss Data Institute (HDLI) reported that two new cars known for being fast and powerful topped its list of vehicles in 2019 that are most likely to be stolen. But that doesn't mean drivers with less expensive vehicles should just go right ahead and leave their cars running and their keys in the ignition whenever they dash into the grocery story. "The models most likely to be stolen tend to be powerful, pricey or pickups, but vehicle theft is also a crime of opportunity," HLDI Senior Vice President Matt Moore said of vehicle theft results released in August 2019. "Better security features on all vehicles would be the best way to address the problem." To determine its list of the year's most stolen vehicles, HDLI looked at claims per insured vehicle year as well as the amounts paid for whole-vehicle total losses under collision coverage, and then adjusted that data to account for the effect of demographic and geographic factors. The slideshow above highlights vehicles with the highest claim frequencies for whole-vehicle theft for model years 2016-2018, according to HLDI. Relative claim frequency listed for each vehicles is based on a 100 average. See also: