Recent spike in luxury vehicle thefts – please advise your clients

Authored by Aviva

In the last few weeks an unfortunate trend in luxury vehicle theft claims has emerged.

Specifically, we’re seeing Bentleys and Ferraris targeted across Central London.

Thieves are becoming bolder and less intimidated by vehicles that are parked in driveways, behind gates or in secure parking garages.

If you have any clients in this area who own luxury vehicles, you may just want to let them know and ask them to be extra vigilant and take the necessary precautions to protect their vehicles.

You could also suggest the following tips to help them mitigate the risk:

1. Advise your clients to always lock their car securely when they leave it, even for a short time, and keep keys with them. Consider buying a steering wheel lock for extra (visible) security - this could make a would-be thief pass over their vehicle for another.
2. Talk to your clients about immobilizers. In addition to a tracker, an immobilizer such as a Thatcham S5 plus could offer an extra layer of protection from key-cloning, key theft and hacking.
3. Remind your clients to make sure the subscription for their vehicle tracking device is maintained - subscriptions that are overdue could affect their motor insurance policy.

If you want any more guidance on this, please contact your usual Aviva underwriter