Skip advert
Advertisement

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.

Advertisement - Article continues below

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...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

‘Secret’ UK courts are fast-tracking speeding fines say magistrates
Speed camera van window
News

‘Secret’ UK courts are fast-tracking speeding fines say magistrates

New guidance from Magistrates’ Association calls for reform and aims to expose ‘secret’ Single Justice Procedure system
26 Mar 2024
Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay
Road tax documentation
News

Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay

Drivers with newer cars can expect to be paying roughly £10 more per year, a although the biggest gas guzzlers will fare the worst
26 Mar 2024
Low on stock: Only 1-in-10 UK supermarkets offer electric car charging
Polestar 2 and LEVC TX connected to Sainsburys EV chargers
News

Low on stock: Only 1-in-10 UK supermarkets offer electric car charging

A survey by Zap-Map and the RAC reveals only 13% of supermarkets are equipped with EV chargers, despite a 59% increase in the past year
22 Mar 2024
Mis-sold car finance scandal: could you be due compensation?
Missold car finance
News

Mis-sold car finance scandal: could you be due compensation?

Did you buy a car on finance between April 2007 and January 2021? You could be owed thousands!
21 Mar 2024

Most Popular

Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years
Upcoming Audi models - four-way image
News

Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years

After a quiet few years, the German giant is gearing up for its biggest product onslaught to date
25 Mar 2024
Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power
Dacia Sandero - front
News

Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power

Both the Sandero and Sandero Stepway ranges have been tweaked, gaining more safety features to meet the latest regulations
26 Mar 2024
Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay
Road tax documentation
News

Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay

Drivers with newer cars can expect to be paying roughly £10 more per year, a although the biggest gas guzzlers will fare the worst
26 Mar 2024