Although boating season may be nearing an end in various partsof the country, some states enjoy year-round seasons. This meansthat owners and their insurers must practice due diligence in notonly ensuring boating enthusiasts' personal safety but also inexecuting adequate theft prevention techniques.

The timing of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB)'slatest report detailing watercraft theft and recoveries in theUnited States seems opportune. The report, which was releasedtoday, incorporates incident data obtained from the National CrimeInformation Center (NCIC) for all 50 states (in addition to theDistrict of Columbia) for the time period ranging from January 1,2009 to May 31, 2011.

The findings suggest that such thefts are sinking, as the 2010numbers signified an 11-percent decrease from the previous year:there were 7,485 incidents in 2009 compared to 6,663 in 2010.Overall, the NICB report identified a total of 16,115 thefts forthe designated timeframe. Of that number, 39 percent (or 6,343)watercrafts were recovered.

The NICB's overview of the states with the most rampant theftwas somewhat reminiscent of the hotbeds for heavy equipment theft. Florida led the states withthe most thefts followed by, in descending order, California,Texas, North Carolina, and Michigan. The states with the mostrecoveries were: Florida, California, Texas, Washington, and NorthCarolina (respectively).

Of the logged thefts where a boat type was specified, thievespreferred those falling into the “all other” category. For thepurposes of this analysis, “all other” includes canoes, dinghies,dories, johnboats, kayaks, lifeboats, paddleboats, sculls, skiffs,and so on. Following “all others” on criminals must-steal list werejet-skis, runabouts, utilities, and cruisers (in descendingorder).

Source: National Insurance CrimeBureau