If you live in Whitby, Ont., you are leading the country with a very unenviable statistic: your city’s increase in auto theft claims has bolted from $512,751 in 2018 to $12,145,932 in 2023. That’s an insane jump of 2,269%. And Pickering thought it had it tough, with a 1,228% increase.
A few weeks ago I wrote that auto theft rates in Canada are finally declining, at least for the first half of 2024 — 17% across the country, 14% in Ontario, 36% in Quebec. Law enforcement is cautiously optimistic, but for anyone paying through the nose for auto insurance (which is many of us), we should know a snippet of good news will unlikely impact our rates anytime soon.
“Rates have to be put before FSRA [Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario] board to be approved,” says Debbie Arnold, a broker with Sound Insurance. “It takes time to gather stats, and time for that approval process. Right now, we’re just starting to pay for the 2022 – 2023 period where theft is concerned.” The same is true regardless of province; rates are regulated. Shorter version: your current rates reflect information that is nearly two years old. Adjusting to the current news is going to take some time. For 2023, insurance paid out $1.5 billion for auto theft in Canada. Arnold says that’s a quarter of all claims overall.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada recently published, for the first time, the top 10 most costly cities for auto theft claims. For Ontario, it tallies increases between 2018 and 2023, and it’s stunning. Seeing Toronto leap from $56,223,067 in payouts in 2018 to $371,815,072 in 2023 — an increase of 561% — probably won’t come as much of a surprise. It makes Toronto the most costly city in the country for auto theft. The other headline makers are there: Brampton jumped 719 % ($11,378,590 to $93,186,518) while Mississauga spiked 533% ($14,226,190 to $89,980,735). The GTA is pinging, especially in cities usually considered the outliers: Vaughan up 789%, Markham up 989%, Oakville up 874%.
By comparison in Alberta, stats taken from 2021 to 2023 put Calgary at the forefront in that province. Payouts increased from $20,856,769 in 2021 to $33,076,848 in 2023 — a hit of 59%. Other major centres saw similar theft claim increases: Edmonton up 66 %, Medicine Hat up 72%, Fort McMurray up 60 % and Lethbridge up 30%.
The Atlantic region doesn’t churn GTA dollar amounts, but it certainly reflects what Équité Associationannounced in its recent theft report: while theft numbers are down almost everywhere else, they’ve risen 11% in the region during the first half of this year. Claims payouts were still rising in Atlantic Canada. Between 2018 and 2023, Halifax was up 122%, Moncton 270%, Fredericton 231% and Charlottetown, 204%.
Quebec, another hard-hit region of the country, reports over a “10-year period, the number of vehicles stolen has soared by 55%, as the average cost for vehicles stolen soared by 118%.” Here’s hoping Equite’s recent report showing a 36% decrease in theft for this province will begin to reduce those costs.
How are insurers responding? We’ve watched a steady move towards aftermarket anti-theft systems being required in cars on the most stolen lists, with insurers adding surcharges for some listed vehicles, or both. Brokers are being issued updates almost weekly with new information. CAA recently announced it will place a surcharge of $1,500 on policies if owners don’t take one of three actions. The vehicles affected are: 2020 or newer: Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Land Rover Defender, Range Rover (including Sport, Evoque, Velar), Lexus GX 460, RX 450, RX 350, Toyota 4Runner, Highlander (including Grand Highlander), Acura RDX, Dodge RAM 1500, Jeep Wrangler, any vehicle with MSRP of $125,000 or higher excluding electric vehicles.
The actions an owner can choose to reduce or remove that surcharge are as follows:
- To remove the entire surcharge, owner must install an aftermarket immobilizer — either CAN-Phantom or Autowatch Ghost II — professionally installed with proof of payment.
- To remove half of the surcharge, owner must install other aftermarket immobilizers, or cut-off systems including engine wire kill switch, fuse box kill switch, remote or car battery kill switch, fuel cut-off or any two factor authentication system (needs a PIN to start), proof of purchase and installation to be provided.
- To reduce the surcharge to $500, owner can opt for a steering wheel lock, a brake pedal lock, a wheel and tire lock, keyfob signal blocking (excluding Farady devices) or retractable bollards.
Interestingly, CAA isn’t looking at tracking and recovery systems, like TAG. They’re assuming a gone car is gone, and are sending the message they would prefer it not be stolen in the first place. That’s exactly what auto manufacturers should be doing. I’ve also been told that TAG has many cameras and sensors at the Montreal port, and those systems are constantly being damaged or compromised. Hey law enforcement, get on that, too.
While CAA has one of the highest proposed surcharges, most providers are following suit, though in different ways. Aviva introduced a $500 surcharge on selected high target vehicles last year (the list evolves, check with your broker), requiring owners to install a TAG or KYCS system to remove the surcharge. They are not subsidizing the cost of the system. Any vehicle with one of the systems will qualify for a 20% reduction in the comp portion of the policy. Pafco also has a $1,500 surcharge on selected vehicles, though they also subsidize a TAG system to remove it.
Economical/Definity will give you a free TAG system if you insure your 2021 or newer Dodge RAM 1500, Jeep Wrangler or Toyota Highlander with them, though you will pay a $500 surcharge on your policy if you opt-out. Other identified high theft target vehicles (HTTV) may qualify for a subsidized TAG system price of $299. A warning from Arnold: these lists of vehicles, for all insurance providers, are constantly changing.
Chubb Insurance is taking a different approach. Though they are a niche market of high-end vehicles, they’ve chosen a $500 surcharge, but will provide free TAG systems on listed vehicles, and subsidized installations on any others. They’ve also upped deductibles to $5,000 for vehicles valued $100K to $200K, and $10,000 for vehicles over $200K. Deductible will not be waived for total theft loss, and theft coverage will be removed if you have two or more total theft losses in five years. Talk to your broker about vehicles tagged as high-theft.
Intact Insurance has a similar list of HTTVs:
- 2016-2021 Lexus RX series
- 2016-2021 Honda CR-V
- 2015.2020 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450
- 2013-2019 Toyota Highlander
- 2016-2021 Honda Civic
- 2015-2021 Land Rover Range Rover
- 2018-2021 Honda Accord Series
- 1999-2006 Chevrolet/GMC Silverado, Sierra 1500, 2500 & 3500
- 2009-2018 Dodge RAM 1500, 2500, 3500
- 2016-2021 Toyota Tacoma
This list is also evolving frequently, and similar subsidies available for authorized tracking and recovery systems. They go one step past the $500 surcharge, however. If you don’t have one of their recognized systems as of this week for new business and a month from now for renewals, you will no longer be able to get OPCF 43/43A coverage. That’s the Limited Waiver of Depreciation that all new car owners should be taking; it provides you, depending on your policy, with the full replacement value (usually from two to five years) of your car if it’s stolen or totalled based on your bill of sale, not current market value.
The discount most insurers are providing for the installation of their designated anti-theft devices is usually around 20%, but that’s only off the comprehensive part of your policy. Most insurers are affixing surcharges — usually $500 — on high-risk vehicles. Check with your broker or provider for up-to-date details, especially if you’re buying a new vehicle.
Debbie Arnold has a word of caution to everybody staring hard at rate increases due to auto theft: “It’s not just auto theft: severe weather and wildfires are dominating claims. The Toronto flood is $1 billion in anticipated claims payout.”
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