Cargo theft a growing insurance problem for Canada: IBC

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and the Provincial Auto Theft Network (PATNET) are making efforts to educate the public on cargo theft, which the groups say is a growing insurance problem here and south of the border. 

The groups held an event, dubbed Red Flags at the Roadside II, this week at the Crystal Palace Hotel and the Empire Theatres in Dieppe, N.B., about three kilometres east of downtown Moncton, including participation from IBC, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the city police services in Saint John and Woodstock.

Quoting from security service firm Freightwatch, IBC noted in a release that cargo theft incidents rose 18% from 2011 to 2012 in Canada.

“Cargo theft is much more than an insurance problem,” IBC’s vice president for the Atlantic Region, Amanda Dean, stated. “It’s a dangerous, expensive, global threat that puts individuals, communities and businesses at risk.”

IBC noted that vehicle theft and fraud costs people in New Brunswick about $4.5 million per year.

In the United States, there were 946 cargo theft incidents in 2012, Freightwatch stated in a report. Its analysis was based on data from its own client services.

IBC stated that cargo thefts in Canada are “typically centred around metropolitan areas.” The bureau added that the Regional Municipality of Peel – which borders Toronto to the west and is the upper level of municipal government for Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, Ont. – is “considered the cargo theft capital of North America.”