Where is your client’s car most likely to be stolen?

NICB has released a list, and you might be surprised to find which city is number one

Where is your client’s car most likely to be stolen?

Insurance News

By Allie Sanchez

Newly released data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reflected a 6.6% increase in car theft across the United States as almost 800,000 vehicles were taken from their owners in 2016.

However, this figure remains relatively low compared to the peak in illegal car activity in 1991, when 1.7 million vehicles were grabbed across the country, according to a report by business media outlet Forbes.

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Albuquerque, New Mexico, topped the list of hotspots, with the most thefts per capita reported in 2016. Pueblo, Colorado takes second spot, while Bakersfield, California, is in third place.

Forbes credits the significant reduction in thefts from almost 20 years ago to the broad adoption of technology, such as smart keys and keyless fobs which also integrate anti-theft security features.

However, the human element remains a significant factor in stolen cars, as almost 60,000 of the owners who reported their cars stolen in 2015 said they left their key in the car.

Forbes also listed the hottest cities for car theft in 2016. Here are the top 10:
 
City State Number of Stolen Cars
Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim California 60,670
San Francisco/Oakland/Hayward California 29,414
Riverside/ San Bernardino/Ontario California 25,708
Houston/The Woodlands/Sugar Land Texas 25,069
Chicago/Naperville/Elgin Illinois 22,853
New York/Newark/Jersey City New York/New Jersey 21,145
Seattle/Tacoma/Belleview Washington 20,704
Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington Texas 20,229
Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach Florida 20,207
Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Roswell Georgia 19,220


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