BTA: Year Has Started with 30% Increase of Stolen Car Parts

AAS BTA Baltic Insurance Company (hereinafter – BTA) summarised data on CASCO claim cases reveals that in the first two months of this year, compared to the same period in 2014, the number of cases of stealing car parts has grown by 30%. And this year continues the tendency of the previous year, showing that the most often BMWs happen to be robbed, yet there is substantial growth of Volvo parts being stolen – last year the number of cases grew four times. In total last year BTA has paid 703 thousand euros in indemnities for stolen cars and car parts.

In accordance with CASCO insurance claims, received by BTA regarding stolen car parts, in 2015 most often – 23% of all claims – parts were stolen from BMW automobiles. The second biggest number of claims regarding stolen parts belongs to Volvo automobiles – 20% of all claims, and thefts from cars of this make increased more than four times in 2015, comparing to the year before that. A relatively smaller number of claims received regarding car parts stolen from Mercedes Benz – 11% of all claims, Volkswagen – 10%, Audi – 7%, Toyota – 7%.

Similar tendency appears in the first two months of this year regarding insurance claims, submitted to BTA about stolen car parts, i.e., most often thieves steal parts from BMW automobiles, and the number of stolen Volvo parts keeps growing – almost 25% of all received claims about stolen car parts are submitted by owners of Volvos.

“Looking at the statistics on cases of stolen car parts, we see that the more expensive models of cars are being robbed with an ever increasing frequency. It has affected the sum of disbursed indemnities, which in 2015 grew by 10% in comparison to 2014. In total last year BTA has paid 703 thousand euros in indemnities for stolen cars and car parts. Alarming are the data on January and February 2016. In comparison with the same period in 2015, this year we have already received 30% more claims regarding stolen car parts. If this tendency continues, then the increase in number of stolen car parts, counted for the whole year, might exceed 30%,” admits Iveta Rijniece, Director of Claims Handling Department of AAS BTA Baltic Insurance Company.

Statistics, summarized by BTA, show that most often thieves take car parts like mirrors and headlights. Volvo XC90, BMW X5 and Volkswagen Touareg are the models, which lose their headlights and mirrors most frequently. Thieves often take also headlights and mirrors from Toyota Avensis and Porsche Cayenne. According to BTA’s data, thieves are not only looking for Volvo’s mirrors and headlights, but they are also stealing rear axle control units.

“Thieves pick not only headlights or mirrors, often cars are left without tyres, disks, stereos, video recorders, control units and even wheels. We must admit that often the damage done by the thieves is not limited to the value of the stolen part: while trying to reach the desired car part, thieves do serious damage to other parts of the automobile: doors, locks, vehicle hoods, front fenders, mirror fittings, windows and interior, thus causing even greater losses to the owner,” says Iveta Rijniece.

According to BTA’s summarized data, a list of clients have been victims of robberies several times in one year. Last year automobiles of 22 BTA CASCO clients were robbed more than once, including two cases, where cars were robbed three times. Often such thefts were done in a very short period of time – within a month or even less, and the accidents have happened in one and the same place. “Such cases prove that owners of automobiles should be cautious and pay more attention to security measures to lower the risk of theft and to protect themselves from great losses. For example, the damage done to Volvo XC90, from which the headlights were stolen and which becomes even more popular object of theft, may reach even 1000 euros,” informs Iveta Rijniece.

TOP 3 biggest indemnities for stolen car parts

In 2015 the biggest indemnity, paid by BTA in CASCO insurance for stolen car parts, was 6783 euros. The indemnity was paid to the owner of Lexus GS 300 of year 2010 to indemnify for the stolen front lights and other damage done by thieves. While stealing the headlights, thieves had damaged the lock and the front bumper.

The second biggest CASCO insurance indemnity for stolen car parts was paid by BTA in the amount of 6171 euros to the owner of Porsche Cayenne Diesel of year 2013, from which the thieves had stolen headlights and damaged the left front fender. And the third biggest CASCO insurance indemnity for stolen car parts – 4303 EUR – was paid by BTA to the owner of another Porsche Cayenne Diesel of year 2013, from which headlights were stolen.
 

BTA is one of the largest indemnity payers in Baltics. Last year BTA has paying insurance indemnities in Baltic States in average amount of 398 thousand euros every business day, which makes it 50 thousand euros every working hour.

About BTA

AAS BTA Baltic Insurance Company was founded in 2014, after reorganisation of BTA Insurance Company SE, performing successful division of the company according to the geographical distribution of its business operations: Baltics and rest of Europe. BTA Insurance Company SE, being a mother company of AAS BTA Baltic Insurance Company, has been successfully operating on insurance market for more than 20 years, in 2009 becoming the third biggest insurer in Baltic States. The international growth of BTA is proven by the TOP 500 of Central European Companies issued by the international auditor company Deloitte for year 2013, where BTA ranks among 50 largest insurance companies in Central Europe.

In December 2015 AAS BTA Baltic Insurance Company concluded a contract about attraction of an investor – one of the leading insurers in Europe – Vienna Insurance Group AG (VIG). The deal shall be completed after receiving all the necessary permits from the authorities, supervising the operation of the industry, which might take place in the first six months of 2016.

More information:
Agnese Grīnberga
Public Relations Manager
AAS BTA Baltic Insurance Company
email: agnese.grinberga@bta.lv
Phone: +371 67025661, mobile: +371 27828796