Auto theft declare prices reached a whopping $371.8 million in Toronto in 2023, making town the most costly in Ontario on the subject of the claims value of changing stolen automobiles, newly launched knowledge reveals.
The Insurance coverage Bureau of Canada (IBC) launched on Tuesday a listing of the highest 10 costliest cities in Ontario for auto theft claims final 12 months. Brampton, Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham and Ottawa adopted Toronto on the checklist.
In line with the bureau, auto theft claims prices surpassed $1 billion for the primary time in Ontario final 12 months. The bureau mentioned auto theft claims prices have surged by 524 per cent in Ontario and by 561 per cent in Toronto since 2018.
“Ontario is seeing an alarming enhance in auto theft claims and auto theft claims prices,” Amanda Dean, vice-president, Ontario and Atlantic, for IBC, mentioned in a information launch on Tuesday.
“As IBC’s numbers reveal, the Better Toronto Space has been hit significantly onerous by the auto theft disaster. These claims prices converse to the rising severity of the auto theft disaster in Ontario — a disaster that’s having a fabric impression on auto insurance coverage premiums, to say nothing of the priority and trauma it’s inflicting Ontarians.”
Handguns and recovered stolen vehicles are on show at a Toronto Police Service information convention in Toronto on March 27, 2024. (Greg Bruce/CBC)
Between 2018 and 2023, the incidence of individuals making insurance coverage claims because of theft of their automobiles elevated by 165 per cent in Ontario, the discharge mentioned. Between 2022 and 2023, the rise in auto theft claims was 21 per cent, whereas and the rise for auto theft claims prices was 32 per cent.
In line with the information, the biggest cities in Ontario are inclined to have the best claims prices. Nonetheless, the discharge mentioned a number of mid-sized cities have skilled “staggering” will increase within the theft claims prices, together with Whitby, Pickering, Milton and Markham.
In Whitby, for instance, auto theft claims prices have elevated 2269 per cent between 2018 and 2023. Final 12 months, auto theft claims prices have been $12.14 million in Whitby, whereas in 2018, they have been $512,751.
WATCH | Toronto noticed greater than $350 million in claims:
Toronto takes prime spot as costliest metropolis for auto theft claims
Toronto has been ranked the most costly metropolis for auto theft claims in Ontario. That’s in keeping with a brand new report from the Insurance coverage Bureau of Canada. In 2023, town noticed greater than $350 million in claims, a 524 per cent bounce since 2018. CBC’s Tyler Cheese has extra.
Auto theft requires layered method, consultants say
Elliott Silverstein, director of presidency relations for CAA Insurance coverage, mentioned on Tuesday that the numbers will not be shocking and insurance coverage firms know that auto theft is occurring to extra customers throughout the province.
Everybody concerned — customers, insurance coverage firms, authorities, auto makers and legislation enforcement — must work collectively to fight the issue as a result of it is changing into extra expensive and frequent, he mentioned.
“Quite a lot of the automobiles which are being stolen are vehicles which are comparatively new, in order that when vehicles are being written off, they’re nearly at full worth,” he mentioned.
Silverstein mentioned the frequency of auto theft crime in Ontario has strained the insurance coverage trade.
“The problem with automobile theft is that it is occurring day by day all throughout the nation without end. It is like a catastrophic occasion occurring day by day of the 12 months. And there is solely thus far that the insurance coverage trade and insurers can go earlier than customers need to pay extra,” he mentioned.
Recovered stolen automobiles are proven right here in Toronto. (Grant Linton/CBC)
Bryan Gast, vice-president of investigative companies at Équité Affiliation, mentioned that whereas some work has been achieved to attempt to cut back the numbers, there’s nonetheless much more to do.
“That is all about cash. This isn’t only a property crime. That is organized teams which are utilizing the automobile as a commodity they usually’re funding their prison operations from it,” Gast mentioned.
Quite a lot of automobiles from the GTA are being exported overseas, he added.
Gast mentioned there isn’t any “magical bullet” to scale back auto theft. Organized crime teams have to be held accountable, legislation enforcement needs to be supplied with the funding it want and automobiles have to be made tougher to steal, he mentioned.
Claims ‘skyrocketing’ in Ontario, bureau says
Dean, for her half, mentioned within the launch that auto theft has reached disaster ranges.
“Auto theft is a nationwide emergency,” she mentioned.
“We applaud the Ontario authorities for the numerous investments it has made to assist mitigate the disaster. Nonetheless, extra have to be achieved to tighten the automobile registration course of to make it tougher for criminals to re-VIN and promote stolen automobiles to unsuspecting Ontarians.
Dean mentioned the bureau urges the provincial authorities and municipalities to work with the federal authorities to implement suggestions within the nationwide motion plan on combating auto theft, provided that claims are “skyrocketing” in Ontario.
“This initiative should embody measures that make it tougher to move and export stolen vehicles,” Dean added.
The bureau is a nationwide trade affiliation that represents Canada’s non-public residence, auto and enterprise insurers.
