Copper was targeted in 96 percent of all metal thefts in the past three years, reports the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), with criminals going after business owners and homeowners evenly.

Aluminum trailed far behind as the second-most stolen metal, with only 965 claims reported in the same time period versus 32,586 for copper.

Of nearly 34,000 claims for copper, bronze, brass, and aluminum theft submitted to ISO ClaimSearch between 2010 and 2012, more than half of the reported copper claims fell under commercial policies and about 45 percent fell under personal lines.

Pipes, electric wiring, air conditioning and plumbing systems are the most common sources for the scavenged commodity, with criminals going to great lengths to take copper to recycling centers when pricing for the metal is high.

Copper theft claims almost directly correlate to its price index; for example, January 2011 saw 931 reported U.S. claims- when the COMEX price for the metal was $3.34 per pound- while a crime spike in August 2011 corresponded to a price of $4.40 per pound and $4.08 per pound in July and August, respectively.

Ohio is the state with the most metal theft claims, with 3,228 claims in the ISO search from 2010-2012, followed by Texas. New York was the 8th ranked state for metal theft, but it was part of the NY-NJ-PA metro area, the top urban area for metal theft claims in the U.S.

According to local news sources, thieves targeted vulnerable New York, New Jersey and Long Island residents while they were clearing out the mess left by Superstorm Sandy. Also recently, 15 Long Island Rail Road workers were accused of stealing more than $253,000 of copper wiring from the railroad between 2010 and 2013. The LIRR usually sells scrap metal to raise capital for the company.

In the most dangerous scenarios, says the NICB, stolen utility wiring has left highways dark, tornado warning sirens silent, farm equipment useless, and even endangered the thieves themselves.

“We have to be concerned about potential liability claims if thieves get injured or killed from trying to steal copper in and around high voltage equipment,” says Karl Zimmel, risk manager of UNS Energy Corp., which oversee Tuscon Electric Power (TEP), implemented a metal-theft prevention program in 2008. “To that extent we are pleased to report zero copper theft from substations last year. Execution of a great plan is priceless on many levels.”

TEP's program includes video surveillance at all critical substations and operational sites, a barbwire barrier and cut resistance fencing, perimeter alarms, physical patrols, a Security Metal Theft Task Force, company and community training as well as educating local scrap-metal recycling sites about signs of suspicious activity.

States are trying to catch up to thieves as well. Arizona, the 18th ranked state for metal theft, recently passed a law that criminalizes the knowledgeable purchase of stolen metal.

Special Reports /

Copper Theft a Hard-Wired Risk for Insurers, Businesses, Homeowners

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