It’s curious to think that Range Rovers, steeped in regard for their harmonious mixture of security and style, are fast proving to be one of the easiest vehicles to steal in the UK.
The Metropolitan police for example have revealed that between January and July of this year almost 300 Range Rover Evoques and Range Rover Sports were stolen in London alone. High Net Worth insurers meanwhile have paid out an estimated £3 million on claims for stolen Range Rovers since the start of the year, with one provider admitting to being notified of up to 5 such cases per week on average.
These figures are quite profound. In fact, they seem to suggest the market in stolen Range Rovers is one big proverbial honey pot for criminals – as organised criminal gangs specialising in auto theft are increasingly intent on shipping such prized pieces out to Eastern Europe to be broken down into parts to sell on (according to the Thatcham Research Centre).
Key to understanding this trend lays in how criminal techniques have diversified and developed in tandem with technological advancements in recent years – smash and grab is increasingly giving way to more sophisticated criminal techniques. In this particular context, thieves are able to hack into a Range Rovers ‘keyless ignition’ systems using a handheld device. The end result being that they are able to simply open the car door, start the ignition and drive away in your vehicle as if it were their own – a prospect that is equal parts troubling, frustrating and ironic when considering how the ‘keyless ignition’ systems are designed to be of convenience to the owner and not a thief.
Because of this recent trend, insurers are now taking a proactive approach to insuring Range Rovers. This doesn’t mean to suggest they are reluctant to cover them in wake of recent losses, it is more that they ask that certain precautions are taken by owners to ensure their vehicles are secure.
These precautions range from the prosaic to the more abstract. A straightforward recommendation would be to ensure that at night your vehicle is garaged or parked securely within the boundaries of your property as opposed to sitting on a public road (particularly if residing in an urban area), or even
to use a good old fashioned steering lock (it’s still a visual deterrent if nothing else).
A more effective solution and one to placate your insurer would be the installation of a category 5 tracker. Range Rovers have always typically come with a tracker requirement when seeking cover due to their value. One of the issues however with the recent spate of thefts is that criminals are increasingly finding ways to bypass the types of tracker on the lower end of the spectrum, meaning most insurers now require the installation of a category 5 tracker before even considering cover.
Category 5 trackers are sophisticated in how they utilize both GPS and VHS technology. Driver tags are provided to identify that the driver of the vehicle is authorised. If a tag is not present when the vehicle is started, an alert will be generated and you will be contacted to confirm the vehicle’s location.
Feel free to get in touch with us for more information on this should you require it. The additional cost of installing this after all pales in comparison to guaranteeing the safety of your vehicle.