IIHS Says Cadillac Most Stolen
By Mark E. Ruquet
NU Online News Service, Aug. 21, 4:04 p.m. EDT?The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported a luxury SUV is the prime candidate for auto theft, differing from the widely reported findings of the National Insurance Crime Bureau and CCC Information Services.
The Arlington, Va.-based IIHS said its affiliate, Highway Loss Data Institute, found that the Cadillac Escalade four wheel drive, model 2000 to 2002, has the highest number theft claims of any vehicle on the road and highest loss payment.
The institute said the Escalade had a claim rate of 10.3 per stolen vehicle and an average loss payment of $167 per year. Coming in second on the stolen vehicles list was the Dodge Stratus at 8.7. The Chevrolet Corvette convertible had the second highest average loss payment at $75 a year.
Chicago-based CCC put the 1989 Toyota Camry at the top of its list of most popular automobiles stolen.
CCC said its figures are based on reports of theft from 350 property-casualty insurers. HLDI said its figures are based on the number of insured vehicles compared to the number of claims. The CCC figures do not exclude uninsured vehicles, said Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president for HLDI.
CCC said its figures do not include cars stolen for joyrides or thefts of items out of vehicles.
The CCC report, released in March of this year, said the percentage of total losses due to theft declined last year by three percentage points.
HLDI said the frequency of claims continues to drop while the cost of claims has risen. For 2002, theft claims dropped to more than 2 per 1,000 vehicles. Average loss payment per theft claim dropped from approximately $6,000 to more than $5,600. However, costs have remained above $5,600 since 1995.
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