Amid the surge in questionable staged-accident claims and suspicious hail loss claims comes a sunny spot: a lower incidence of auto theft. In the most recent iteration of the National Insurance Crime Bureau's (NICB) annual report "Hot Spots," the agency found that 2009 marked the nation's sixth consecutive year of waning vehicle thefts.
The NICB report takes into account vehicle theft data obtained from the National Crime Information Center for each of the nation's metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Designated by the Office of Management and Budget, MSAs often include areas much larger than the cities for which they are named. For example, the Laredo, Texas MSA includes all thefts within the entire county of Webb in addition to the city of Laredo.
Eighty-three percent of U.S. MSAs (304 of 366) pointed to fewer thefts compared to that of 2008. Data collected by the FBI in its preliminary 2009 semi-annual crime report suggests that the trend will continue. In the crime report, which was published last December, the agency predicted that vehicle theft may drop by as much as 18 percent from 2008′s numbers once the final figures are tabulated in the fall.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
