WORLD INSURANCE NEWS

MITSUBISHI STORM A FAVOURITE WITH CAR THIEVES

The General Insurance Association of Malaysia's (PIAM) first quarter statistics has revealed that the Mitsubishi Storm, a 4-wheel-drive (4WD) model, topped the non-national makes among car thieves.

Thieves stole 93 of these vehicles from January to March this year as opposed to 86 for the whole of last year, said PIAM in a statement.

Among national makes, Proton and Perodua topped the top five list with Proton Wira the highest at 385 vehicles followed by the Perodua Kancil at 154.

A total of 1,381 vehicles were stolen in the first quarter of this year, corresponding to a pay-out of RM78,538,697 for private cars alone from insurers.
PIAM executive director, Lim Chia Fook, said there was an upward trend with insurers having paid out RM128.8 million in motor vehicle theft claims during the first quarter.

"If this continues for the rest of the year, the industry is estimated to pay out RM515 million in motor theft claims, compared to last year's RM368 million," said Lim.

Popular methods used by thieves included key duplication when the vehicles were left with car jockeys or car wash, posing as car repossessors, towing them away or simply crashing into them before making the steal.

The stolen vehicles were either cannibalised for parts, re-registered to be sold to unsuspecting buyers or smuggled across the border.

Noting that manufacturers were mostly reluctant to pre-install effective anti-theft equipment, Lim said the burden would be on the owners to be vigilant.

Source: The Malay Mail, 23 May 2002