Walking out to an empty space where you parked your car is a situation we hope to never find ourselves in. After ensuring that you’re in the right place and that you didn’t park where you shouldn’t have, reality quickly sets in: your car was stolen. Now what?
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), over 1 million vehicles were stolen in 2022, representing a 7% increase over 2021. If you find yourself a victim of auto theft, the first thing to do is try to remain calm. Although a stolen car is a stressful situation, understanding what steps to take will help you retrieve or replace your vehicle as soon as possible. Here’s what to do if your car has been stolen or vandalized.
Key Takeaways:
Report a stolen car to local law enforcement as soon as possible. According to the NICB, 45% of stolen vehicles are found within two days.
You’ll need comprehensive coverage in order for your insurer to cover the repair or replacement costs of a stolen car.
You can use your renters or homeowners insurance to cover personal items that were inside your car at the time of theft.
Essential Steps to Take If Your Car Is Stolen
1. Contact Law Enforcement
It’s important that you report a stolen car to local law enforcement as soon as possible. Although there is no guarantee that notifying the police will get your car back, the sooner you report the crime, the sooner it can be recovered. According to the NICB, 34% of stolen vehicles are recovered on the same day as the theft, and 45% are recovered within the first two days. Additionally, you’ll likely need to have a police report filed for your insurer to honor an auto theft claim.
You should still immediately contact the police even if your car was broken into but wasn’t stolen. Having a police report on file establishes a clear timeline of when and where a crime took place, which will be helpful during the claims process.
To report a vehicle stolen, law enforcement will typically need to know the following information:
Your vehicle’s make, model, and color
License plate number and VIN
When and where you last parked your car
Information on your car’s GPS tracking system, if applicable
Your contact details
2. Call Your Insurance Provider
After contacting and filing a report with the police, your next step should be calling your insurance provider. In some cases, you may only be able to file a claim with your insurer for a stolen car once you have a police report. Additionally, keep in mind that not all policies cover stolen vehicles.
You will need comprehensive insurance to cover the cost of a stolen vehicle’s replacement (up to your policy’s limits). If you only carry your state’s minimum required coverage, your insurer won’t cover replacement costs. Even if you don’t have comprehensive insurance, it is still wise to contact your insurance company so that you won’t be liable for damage the thief causes with your car.
3. Take Pictures and Make a List
After making all necessary phone calls, document the scene of the crime. Police reports are great for setting a timeline, but you’ll want to have as much evidence as possible. For example, there could be leftover signs indicating how your car was stolen, such as broken glass. If your car was vandalized, your insurer will want to see any photos you take of the damage, so be as thorough as possible.
Although comprehensive insurance will cover replacement costs up to your policy’s limits, it won’t cover personal items in the vehicle at the time of theft. Suppose your laptop was inside your stolen car. In that case, you can file a claim through your renters or homeowners insurance to replace stolen items.
4. Contact Your Lender
If you are financing or leasing your car, don’t forget to inform your lender about the theft. Since lenders have a legal claim to the vehicle, they can work with the insurance company directly, which can help speed up the claims process.
Unfortunately, are still responsible for your car’s payments even if it is stolen. That’s why lenders typically require you to carry comprehensive coverage when leasing or financing a vehicle.
What If My Stolen Car Is Found?
Hooray, your car was found! In most cases, law enforcement will typically impound your vehicle when it is located and contact you so that you can pick it up. Once notified that your car has been found, contact your insurance company right away. If your claim has already been settled, your insurance company owns the car. However, if the claim has yet to settle, your insurer will want you to inspect the vehicle to repair any damages that may have occurred.
What If My Car Isn’t Recovered?
Although reporting your car stolen will increase the likelihood of it being found, it isn’t a guarantee that it will. So, what happens if a stolen car isn’t recovered?
After filing a claim using your comprehensive coverage, you’ll receive a payout equal to your vehicle’s actual cash value (ACV) at the time of theft, up to your policy’s limits and minus your plan’s deductible. For example, if your car is worth $20,000 at the time of theft and you have a $1,000 deductible, you’ll receive a payout of $19,000.
The Top 10 Most Stolen Cars Nationwide
Although any car can be susceptible to auto theft, thieves tend to target some models more than others. According to the NICB, here are the top 10 most stolen cars nationwide.
Vehicle Make and Model
Total Thefts in 2022
Model Year Most Often Stolen
1. Chevrolet Pickup (Full Size)
49,903
2004
2. Ford Pickup
48,175
2006
3. Honda Civic
27,113
2000
4. Honda Accord
27,089
1997
5. Hyundai Sonata
21,707
2013
6. Hyundai Elantra
19,602
2017
7. Kia Optima
18,221
2015
8. Toyota Camry
17,094
2021
9. GMC Pickup (Full Size)
16,622
2005
10. Honda CR-V
13,832
2001
Speak With an Insurance Specialist Today
If your car is stolen, having the right amount of coverage will keep you financially protected. Although comprehensive insurance costs more than standard liability coverage, the coverage could help you avoid a hefty out-of-pocket bill after a covered incident. If you aren’t sure of which auto insurance coverages work best for you, AIS can help. Our insurance specialists can guide you along your search and know the questions to ask to help build your ideal policy. Plus, we’ll use our network of trusted insurance partners to find you auto quotes that align with your budget. Contact us today by calling (888) 772-4247, or starting a quote online.
The information in this article is obtained from various sources and offered for educational purposes only. Furthermore, it should not replace the advice of a qualified professional. The definitions, terms, and coverage in a given policy may be different than those suggested here. No warranty or appropriateness for a specific purpose is expressed or implied.
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These three trends are exposing security vulnerabilities, and heightening the call for businesses to stay informed on the ways in which cybercriminals are adapting and advancing their operations.
Cybersecurity is one of the most prevalent risks in our hyper-connected society.
Due to the nature of technological advancements and the speed with which data can be manipulated, businesses and governments are seemingly trapped in a never-ending cycle of playing catchup as cybercriminals launch new and more sophisticated threats.
In the latest chapter of this evolution, cybercriminals are utilizing emerging technology and shifting their focus to different targets to carry out their malicious activities.
A New Approach to Data Ransom
Cybercriminals have long focused on encrypting their targets’ systems or data for ransom.
In response, many businesses have prioritized robust backups from which their data can be restored in the event of a ransomware attack.
This has forced cybercriminals to pivot in their approach to cash in on victims’ data.
Cybercriminals are now increasingly stealing highly sensitive data, often opting to forego system encryption, and instead threatening to publicly leak or sell this information on the dark web unless the organization pays up.
To get the most bang for their buck, cybercriminals are attacking the public sector more often as the government, healthcare and education industries house a wealth of private and confidential data. Furthermore, these industries tend to have restricted budgets and legacy systems, making them easy targets.
This doesn’t mean the private sector is off the hook — any organization that collects and stores data is at risk of a ransom attack.
New Technology Brings New Risks
The constant evolution of technology is a double-edged sword.
For example, many businesses are turning to current advancements like artificial intelligence (AI) to increase efficiencies; this technology is being used for the same purpose in the criminal world.
Cybercriminals have successfully worked around the built-in legal safeguards to use AI software to ramp up their production of malware and credible phishing emails.
They are also capitalizing on the mass interest in AI applications, such as ChatGPT, by creating fake websites purporting to offer AI software in order to steal credentials or launch malware.
AI can also be used to create voice clones to scam employees. For example, cybercriminals used AI to impersonate the boss of a UK-based energy firm to successfully steal $234,000 USD.
The future potential of quantum computing is another emerging risk as current cybersecurity and encryption technology is not adequate to guard against these sophisticated and powerful capabilities.
In response, cybersecurity stakeholders and experts are calling for organizations — particularly those involved in critical infrastructure — to start creating a quantum-readiness roadmap, which includes examining their vendors’ roadmaps.
This brings us to our third trend.
The Third-Party Connection
Increasing efficiencies often contributes to greater success for both businesses and cybercriminals.
As such, businesses often contract out various cyber services where it is cost-effective, and these third-party vendors — such as those who provide payment processing, software, IT and marketing services and products — are increasingly coming under attack.
Cybercriminals can wreak extensive havoc by targeting and exposing the vulnerabilities of third-party vendors; targeting one service provider can spread malware to users all along the network supply chain, hitting several targets from which to extort payment from or steal data.
This affects not only the businesses who use impacted third-party vendors, but also those businesses’ contacts.
Recent examples of this include attacks that targeted MOVEit, a popular file-sharing software, which compromised the data of over 600 businesses worldwide, impacting over 40 million people; and Log4J, a widely used logging library software, which saw more than 100 hacking attempts occur every minute at the height of the exploitation.
Businesses can no longer be complacent in ensuring their own systems are adequately protected. They also have a responsibility to review and ensure their third-party providers subscribe to a high level of cybersecurity.
This is a very challenging space to monitor. As more businesses rely on third-party vendors, these providers are increasingly being inundated with compliance requests and may be reluctant to fully open their systems up to scrutiny.
How Are Businesses to Respond?
Cybersecurity will always be fluid.
The key to effectively adapting in response to criminal activities remains education — businesses must be vigilant in staying informed about escalating and emerging threats as well as current best practices for cybersecurity. This should not be done in silos, but instead include the sharing of information between stakeholders, vendors and staff.
Ongoing training of employees — who remain the weakest link when it comes to a business’ cybersecurity defences — is paramount, as does the routine reviewing, testing and updating of response plans.
Budgets should also reflect the increased need for IT expertise, cybersecurity and cyber liability insurance.
Hillaine McCaffrey is a Senior Underwriter & Broker, D&O and Cyber, with Acera Insurance (formed through the merger of several award-winning brokerages, including Rogers Insurance, CapriCMW and Megson FitzPatrick). She specializes in providing insurance and risk management solutions related to cybersecurity and directors and officers. Hillaine has a law degree (University of Calgary, JD’96) in addition to her Canadian Risk Management (CRM) and Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designations. She is licenced in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and the Yukon.
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