As car theft decelerates, insurance claims are down in Canada

With vehicle thefts gradually decelerating in Canada, insurance claims and costs are also on the decline.
New data by the Insurance Bureau of Canada released Wednesday showed that in the first six months of the year, there were 17,647 insurance claims for auto theft, a 19 per cent decrease when compared with 2023.
Across the country, car theft claims from January until June amounted to more than $544 million, down by roughly 29 per cent relative to the same period last year.
This comes as the number of vehicle thefts dropped by 17 per cent in the first half of the year, according to a previous report by the non-profit Équité Association.
Increased investments, public awareness and information-sharing have helped reverse the trend of auto theft, according to Équité.
“Concerted actions by law enforcement, insurers, governments and drivers to combat theft are showing results, but more remains to be done,” said Liam McGuinty, vice-president of strategy at IBC, in a statement.
Despite the dip seen this year, auto theft claims and counts still remain above “historical levels,” IBC reported.
In the last 10 years, auto theft claims have gone up by 138 per cent and the value of those claims has surged by 442 per cent.
McGuinty said this is putting upward pressure on drivers’ insurance premiums, while also compromising public safety.
“While theft frequency dropped slightly in the first six months of 2024, the problem remains significantly above historical trends,” he added.
As the issue persists, experts say that drivers are likely to continue feeling the pinch on their insurance premiums.
In a Ratehub.ca survey in May, nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents said they’ve faced a “significant” increase in auto insurance premiums recently.
IBC looked at data from Ontario, Quebec, Alberta as well as the Atlantic provinces.
Its analysis did not include data for Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia since it was unavailable.
Among the provinces included, Quebec saw the largest drop (44 per cent) in the number of insurance claims for auto theft, followed by Ontario at 16 per cent.
In Nova Scotia, the claims actually went up by 27 per cent, as they did in New Brunswick by 14 per cent, as well as Alberta reporting a 0.7 per cent rise.
This mirrors the Équité data which showed an 11 per cent jump in vehicle theft for Atlantic provinces.
“Experts credit these regional differences to the opportunistic nature of car thieves, who may be shifting their focus away from provinces like Ontario and Quebec, where law enforcement has invested significantly in combatting auto theft, toward western and Atlantic provinces,” IBC said.
Over the past year, the federal government, along with law enforcement agencies, border officials and other industry stakeholders, have stepped up efforts to curb vehicle theft in the country.
A national summit on combatting auto theft was held in Ottawa in February to address the problem.
The federal government unveiled an action plan in May, including measures and funding announced in the weeks since the summit was held.
It also featured changes to the Criminal Code, such as stiffer penalties and new offences targeting car thieves and the devices they use, that were included in the latest federal budget.
Transport Canada is currently carrying out an open consultation to review and modernize the current standards that vehicles that are manufactured or sold in Canada are expected to adhere to.
In addition to updating Canada’s motor vehicle safety standards, the IBC is urging immediate action to stop stolen vehicles from being shipped overseas with tighter export regulations and better screening at ports.
— with files from Global News’ Craig Lord