H.E.A.T. Warns of Auto Theft Crimes that Could Raise Insurance Rates
Posted by Jose Lopez on May 16, 2010 | No Comments »
According to H.E.A.T. (Help Eliminate Auto Theft), Michigan drivers, as well as drivers around the country, should be warned about the various types of auto thefts that are on the rise. These auto thefts could not only cause unnecessary hardships, they could quickly increase your auto insurance rates.
Auto Theft Crimes on the Rise
According to H.E.A.T., there are a number of specific auto theft crimes on the rise. Here are the crimes the organization listed:
- Component theft: This is the theft of vehicle parts like tires, rims, airbags and navigation systems, which are being sold to crooked dealers and repair shops.
- Online fraud: With this type of auto theft, trading and selling stolen vehicles via “open market” sites like Craigslist.org.
- Vehicle re-tagging/cloning: Thieves are taking legitimate VIN numbers from cars matching the year, make, model and color of a stolen vehicle and swapping or duplicating the identifying digits.
- Check fraud: In this scenario, vehicle buyers are offering fake certified checks to sellers in order to purchase a vehicle. To get this done, the buyer insists that the transaction take place in the evening or on a weekend when the check can’t be immediately verified.
How Auto Theft Could Increase Auto Insurance Rates
There are a number of ways that auto thefts have a directly negative effect on auto insurance rates:
- Personal coverage: If your car gets stolen, the auto insurance company may have to pay to recover the vehicle. This will more than likely increase your premium significantly.
- Coverage nationwide: When auto thefts increase in a certain area or nationwide, this has a huge effect on insurance rates across the board. Car insurance companies don’t like to pay for auto thefts, so if they think they’ll have to cover them, they’ll increase premiums to anticipate the losses.
Because auto theft seems to be increasing across the country, it’s good to make sure your car is protected. This way, the only reason your auto insurance rates will increase will be due to yearly increases.
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Tags: Auto Theft, Theft