Social media, the Police and insurance companies are telling us car theft has increased dramatically for luxury cars, specifically Land Rovers and Range Rovers. Professional car thieves will steal cars in minutes and within hours have them at a workshop, stripped for parts or stolen to order, and on their way to ports for export.
Due to the increased theft of Land Rovers,with a value over £25,000, Aviva are now applying an additional excess equivalent to 5% of the stolen vehicle value at the time of loss for all commercial fleet vehicle policies (not for private Aviva car policies). This is simply because the number of Land Rovers being stolen is continuing to increase. Despite less than 5% of Aviva’s insured vehicles in Commercial Motor being Land Rovers, they accounted for nearly 40% of our Theft claims costs in 2022.
The problem is Serious
Aviva tell us in the last few weeks an unfortunate trend in luxury vehicle theft claims has emerged, specifically in the affluent London postcode area of NW11. Whilst rural parts of the UK may not have the same high risks, they do exist if you are leaving your car at airports or visiting large cities. It’s also worth remembering these high-end, desirable, cars are taking up to 18 months to be delivered. Do you want to be without your car for this period?
What can you do to limit your risk?
- Firstly, make sure your tracker subscription is ‘live’. Even better, if you need to renew, consider a third party S5 tracker as thieves appear to be able to find manufacturer fitted solutions easily and disable them
- Always lock your car securely when leaving it, even for a short time, and keep the keys with you. Using a steering wheel lock for extra (visible) security could make a would-be thief pass over your vehicle for another.
- Keep your vehicle off street overnight, where possible, especially in cities as thieves are known to use recovery trucks to pick up cars. Make sure the vehicle is in a well-lit area.
- Use a Faraday RF case or box to shield the signal from car keys at home to prevent keys being cloned using low-cost electronic tools.
- It’s advisable to have good household security. Stopping fast break-ins at the front door will deter thieves .
- Finally, add a second layer of security to your vehicle such as Ghost II, Scorpion X and NoGo.
Install second layer of security
As an example, the independently fitted Autowatch Ghost II is a vehicle immobiliser adding a further level of security, preventing a thief from bypassing key entry. Without entering the correct PIN code the car will cut out. There will be no warning to the thief why the vehicle will not start.
Autowatch Ghost II is an anti-cloning vehicle immobiliser that specifically protects your vehicle from this type of theft, preventing key-cloning and hacking. Even if your original key gets stolen, it secures your vehicle so that it can’t be driven without the PIN code. And with no signals, key fobs, or LED indications to give away its location, installation is undetectable.
Autowatch Ghost II immobiliser uses the discrete sequence of pin codes through existing buttons already in your vehicle. The sequence to starting your vehicle can be practically transparent to any passenger or occupant. Jamming devices to obtain codes from an original key remote fob has no impact with the Autowatch Ghost.
For further information go to https://trackingdoctor.co.uk/ghost-immobilisers/
