Stolen vehicle recovery rates plummet to 28% as insurers pay out £1.44bn

Only 28 per cent of stolen vehicles in 2021 were recovered, down from 80% in 2006

Police

Vehicle thefts in England and Wales are costing insurers nearly £1.5 billion per year, while recovery rates have plummeted. Of the 101,198 vehicles stolen across the two nations in 2021, only around 28 per cent were recovered, according to an analysis of Home Office figures by Claims Management and Adjusting, with insurers paying out an estimated £1.44 billion.

By comparison, there were around 180,000 vehicle thefts in 2006, of which 80 per cent were recovered and insurers only had to pay out £360 million. One key difference is that the average value of a stolen vehicle in 2006 was £10,000, whereas it was £20,000 in 2021.

CMA’s managing director Philip Swift is a former police detective. He described the fact that 72 per cent of stolen vehicles are never recovered as a “staggering failure”.

“It is way too simplistic to say car crime is down from 500,000 offences in the mid-1990s to 100,000 today, so we’ve largely solved it,” he said. “Even from 180,000 a year in 2006, when the Home Office stopped publishing the annual car theft index, the picture has changed dramatically. 15-odd years ago, the typical theft was an old Ford Escort worth less than £5,000 taken for ‘joyriding’ and later recovered, often burnt-out. Now, we commonly see nearly new Range Rovers worth £100k stolen by professional criminals, and they’re seldom found.”

Swift said the situation has worsened for both drivers and insurers, with the former less likely to be reunited with their stolen cars and the latter paying out far more than they used to.

He added: “Another piece of the puzzle is the changing method of theft, with keyless technology and electronic security bypass frequently and thoughtlessly blamed. Indeed, some point to the fact that around half of recovered vehicles are undamaged nowadays, compared to just 15 per cent a decade ago, as some sort of success. It isn’t. It’s a crumb of comfort at best. Unfortunately, the suspected method is often not recorded by constabularies now, either. Again, lack of data is disguising the true - frankly embarrassing - scale of the UK’s vehicle crime problem.”

Have you been a victim of car theft? Let us know about your experience in the comments section below and get your own car insurance quotes with our partner Quotezone...

Recommended

£100 pavement parking fines to be enforced in Scotland from today
Parking ticket
News

£100 pavement parking fines to be enforced in Scotland from today

Parking with your wheels on the kerb can now cost £100 north of the border - will England’s lawmakers follow suit?
11 Dec 2023
UK passes major milestone with 10,000 EV rapid charge points
Rapid charger
News

UK passes major milestone with 10,000 EV rapid charge points

EV drivers have more charging choices than ever, and the roll-out rate continues to gather pace says Zapmap
7 Dec 2023
Electric car registrations slow despite overall new car sales growth
SMMT new car registration - total for November 2023
News

Electric car registrations slow despite overall new car sales growth

Pure-electric car take-up was steady in November 2023 with plug-in hybrids surging in popularity
5 Dec 2023
UK car thefts hit an all-time high with keyless car tech to blame
Thief breaking in to car
News

UK car thefts hit an all-time high with keyless car tech to blame

Car theft is at record levels in the UK according to data from LV insurance
4 Dec 2023

Most Popular

New Nissan Qashqai to get radical look and all-electric power
Nissan Qashqai exclusive image - front
News

New Nissan Qashqai to get radical look and all-electric power

Major investment in Nissan’s Sunderland plant underpins the new fourth-generation Qashqai
8 Dec 2023
New Omoda 5 to take on the Nissan Qashqai and Hyundai Tucson when it arrives in early 2024
Omoda 5 - front
News

New Omoda 5 to take on the Nissan Qashqai and Hyundai Tucson when it arrives in early 2024

The new Omoda 5 SUV will only be available with an all-electric powertrain when it hits the UK next spring, but a hybrid option is expected later
8 Dec 2023
Polestar 4 awarded Car Design of the Year by Car Design News
Polestar 4 - front studio
News

Polestar 4 awarded Car Design of the Year by Car Design News

Car design’s most auspicious peer-awarded prize goes to Polestar 4, while Dacia Manifesto wins Concept Design of the Year
7 Dec 2023