Chubb tracking service to help prevent theft of contractor equipment in U.S.

New Jersey-based Chubb Group of Insurance Companies is now offering added protection for contractors who purchase and install a tracking device on their equipment.

“Contractors’ equipment is more than twice as likely to be stolen than damaged or lost due to vandalism, fire, collision or weather-related events,” Bob Opitz, vice president and worldwide inland marine manager for the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, notes in a statement released earlier this week.

The hope is that installation of the tracking device will help improve the chances of recovering stolen equipment. “Under this benefit, Chubb agrees to pay for the cost of activating the device if the equipment is stolen,” adds the press release.

The IRONwatch tracking device will be serviced by the National Equipment Register (NER), a division of Verisk Crime Analytics. Chubb reports that when it is activated, NER’s 24-hour call centre can quickly notify equipment owners and law enforcement of the location of the misplaced or stolen equipment.

“Working together with NER, we can help reduce recovery time and the costs associated with equipment stolen from contractors in the United States,” Opitz says.

South of the border, the National Crime Information Center received 11,705 reports of equipment theft in 2011. But theft is clearly not limited to the U.S. or to contractor equipment.

In June, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and the Provincial Auto Theft Network (PATNET) announced efforts were under way to educate the public on cargo theft, a growing insurance problem on both sides of the border. Citing security service firm Freightwatch – based on data from its own client services – IBC noted cargo theft incidents rose 18% from 2011 to 2012 in Canada.

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

In late May, Marsh Canada became is the latest company to join the CargoNet and NER. “Many of our clients are concerned about the increase in the instances of cargo and heavy equipment theft,” Matthew Yeshin, managing director of Marsh Canada’s marine practice, noted in a statement.

CargoNet and NER, both of which are part of Verisk Crime Analytics, are data sharing and intelligence systems aimed at fighting cargo and heavy equipment theft. Both systems are centered on secure North American databases and information-sharing platforms managed by crime analysts and other experts.

CNA Canada and the Canadian Trucking Alliance have also partnered with CargoNet and NER to help combat theft.