Auto theft rate edges up in U.S., preliminary FBI data suggests

An American P&C insurers’ organization recently suggested vehicle thefts last year may be 1.3% higher per capita than in 2011, ending an eight-year downward trend.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau released its Hot Spots vehicle theft report last week, which examines vehicle theft data from the National Crime Information Centre for each metropolitan statistical area in the U.S.

Preliminary figures from the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimate there was a 1.3% increase in 2012 from auto thefts per capita in 2011. Final FBI numbers will be released this fall, according to Des Plaines, Ill.-based NICB.

Thefts increased year-to-year by 10.6% in the west region, while the midwest, northeast and south regions reported drops by 3.1%, 7.9% and 2.9% respectively.

Eight of the 10 MSAs with the highest rankings in the country were in California, with Modesto and Fresno ranking first and second respectively. Last year, Fresno (about 300 kilometres southeast of San Francisco) had the highest theft rate of all U.S. MSAs and Modesto (about 140 kilometres east of San Francisco) ranked second. Two of the top 10 MSAs (Yakima and Spokane-Spokane Valley) were from the state of Washington.

The ranking of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (at the south end of San Francisco Bay) jumped from 20th in 2011 to seventh last year. MSAs do not necessarily correspond to municipal boundaries because they are geographic entities delineated by the federal Office of Management and Budget. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA also includes Cupertino, Milpitas, Mountain View and Palo Alto, among others.

The Modesto MSA encompasses the entire county of Stanislaus.

NICB, which is supported by more than 1,000 &C companies and self-insured organizations, focusses on data analytics, investigations, training and advocacy.