Car thieves go for even 23-year-old cars this year
Car thieves go for even 23-year-old cars this year
The current utterly different patterns of Latvian people living, working and resting, as well as regular police raids, monitoring compliance with the c-19 related restrictions, has affected the business of car thieves. One and a half month before the end of the year, the amount of stolen cars is about 43% lower than last year, and it can reasonably be expected that 2021 will be the safest year in this respect throughout the entire decade. Due to the unusual circumstances, the "appetite" of thieves has changed as well – they mostly choose 9–23-year-old cars now, according to BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS (hereinafter – BTA) observations.
This year, BTA has received insurance claims for 215 stolen cars, which is almost a half less than last year and triple less the amount in 2015. And, while the total number of insured car thefts keeps steadily declining in recent years, new trends are emerging. One of the most obvious is the change in the age groups of stolen cars. Where in the first half of the past decade the most endangered were cars that were up to 10-year-old, then now the owners of brand new vehicles can sleep relatively tight. Fingers of both hands are enough to count stolen cars that were up to 4 years old, and both brand new and a year old cars were the least affected.
However, this year, cars aged 9 and more are especially popular with thieves, which could be explained by the general increase in demand in the used car market. This accordingly increases the interest in spare parts for cars of a certain age category. Against the overall background, there were surprisingly many 20 to 23-year-old vehicles, the market value of which is barely a couple thousand euros, while the most popular among criminals this year are 13-year-old cars.
“The unusual circumstances that we have been living in for a year and a half have changed everyone's daily lives. Also that of offenders. Car theft has become more complicated, as the police make regular raids through cities, towns and villages at night, and any night-time walker or driver can attract the attention of law enforcement officers. Especially during periods of strict restrictions. The sale of a stolen vehicle has also become more difficult. When driving across the border, even on remote roads, there is a greater chance of encountering border guards who will want to check the completed Covid-19 electronic form and the thief may get caught,” explains the drop in the volume of car theft Kārlis Liepiņš, the Director of BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department.
About BTA
BTA Baltic Insurance Company is one of the leading insurance companies in the Baltics, offering the broadest range of non-life insurance services in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. BTA employs more than 1,000 employees in the Baltics. The shareholder of BTA is Vienna Insurance Group AG with close to 200 years of experience in the insurance business. With about 50 companies in 30 countries and more than 25,000 employees, Vienna Insurance Group is a clear market leader in its Central and Eastern European markets, and takes care of more than 22 million customers. Vienna Insurance Group is the best-rated company of ATX, the leading index of Vienna Stock Exchange (since 1994) with a rating of A+ with stable outlook from Standard & Poor’s. Vienna Insurance Group works in close partnership with Erste Group – the largest retail bank in CEE.
Additional information:
Elīna Zvejniece
Marketing and Public Relations Department Director
BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS
e-mail elina.zvejniece@bta.lv