As both the price of copper and unemployment rates rise, the increase in thefts of this and other metals looms large for insurers and risk managers as vacant buildings and construction sites are being stripped of wiring, pipes and other copper-containing elements.

These thefts aren't just impacting the commercial sector, either: Thieves are also breaking into vacant homes, stealing anything that can be quickly turned over for profit or sold for scrap metal.

I know this firsthand because a small, now-vacant home in western North Carolina, owned by my family for generations, was recently targeted.

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