Figures out today from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show that the number of motor theft claims paid by insurers in the first quarter of this year were at their highest for any quarter since 2012, with a payment made to a car crime victim every 8 minutes.
The cost of these claims rose by over 20% on the same period last year and the increase is in part being driven by keyless car crime, with hi-tech criminals being able to bypass keyless technology in as little as 20 seconds .
The report also shows that the cost of vehicle repairs, to both the vehicles of policyholders and those of third parties during the quarter, was £1.2 billion. This was the highest quarterly figure since the ABI started collecting this data back in 2013.
Higher repair bills reflect ever more sophisticated vehicle design and technology, which in most cases costs more to repair when damaged.
For example, the cost of a headlamp for one popular model has risen by over 400% from £163 for the 2012-17 model range to £840 for the most recent model.
Average replacement windscreen costs for another popular model have risen from £147 between 2008-9 to £468 for models registered after 2015.
Passive keyless entry systems, which allow drivers to open and start their cars without removing the key fob from their pocket, can be exploited using a technique called the ‘Relay Attack.’ Usually operating in pairs, one criminal will hold a device up against the car, to capture the signal it sends out to the key.
It then ‘boosts’ this signal to another device by the front wall of the house, which relays the signal to the key inside. This fools the car and key into thinking they are within the 2m range of operation, allowing the car to be unlocked and started. Once started the engine will not restart without the key present.
