Vehicle theft now accounts for more than 12% of all property crime in Canada—costing Canadians close to $1 billion every year. This high price is borne by insurers, government and consumers, alike. Insurers incur about $600 million each year in the replacement or repair of stolen vehicles, while the taxpayer ends up paying roughly $400 million for police, healthcare, court costs and correctional service expenses.

One way to help your client not become a victim to auto theft is to provide them with a least of simple and cheap, or no-cost, strategies to deter thieves, such as:

• Keep the vehicle locked at all times, even while driving;
• Never leave the keys in the ignition;
• Never leave valuables exposed on the front or back-seats;
• Never get out from behind the wheel when the engine is running;
• Park in well-lit areas where there are many people about.

While, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and the U.S.-based National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) agree that "common-sense strategies" should be adopted by all drivers both organizations advise drivers to go one-step further by embracing devices that specifically deter theft. These include: audible alarms, steering column collars (a.k.a., clubs), steering wheel locks, brake pedal locks, wheel locks, and tire deflators—all of which make stealing a vehicle more difficult and time consuming. Consumers can also increase their protection, for a price, through more sophisticated deterrence devices, such as an immobilizer, which prevents a thief who has broken into the vehicle from starting the engine.

While immobilizers, such as smart keys, fuse cut-offs, kill switches, and starter/ignition/fuel disablers will stop many thieves, such devices are not infallible. Serious professionals who steal for a living know what car immobilizer systems and are equipped to deal with these devices. In addition, few people know that remote car starters, so popular in Canada, actually bypass the safety features of the immobilizer system, making it even easier for thieves.

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For additional protection, again at a cost, the NICB supports a four-step approach.

1. Common sense strategies (outlined above);
2. First layer of security devices (outlined above);
3. Use of an immobilizer (outlined above);
4. Use of a vehicle-tracking device.

Relying on today's most advanced technology, vehicle tracking devices help locate and recover a vehicle quickly, before it can be stripped for parts or shipped to another province or country.

Tracking devices fall into one of the following two categories: GPS systems and cellular systems.

GPS systems, short for global positioning satellite, require three or more satellites to receive a clear signal from the vehicle. GPS is best used for convenience-based services like finding hotels or restaurants, or getting turn-by-turn directions to a specific location. They can also be used to track speed, driving habits and vehicle routes remotely via the internet. Over time, these systems have also become very affordable.

However, GPS systems are not specifically designed to recover stolen vehicles. The systems require an unobstructed path—no skyscrapers, clouds or other obstructions can be in the path of the unit and the satellite. Also, GPS systems will not work if the vehicle is underground or in a shipping container. Drivers should also know that GPS systems only determine an approximate not pinpoint a precise vehicle location. From a car theft perspective, GPS systems also have the disadvantage as they do not have their own tracking teams in the field; they rely on police forces to recover stolen vehicles the timing of which depends on police priorities. For these reasons, no discounts are given by most insurers for these systems.

Another option is a cellular systems tracking system, which relies on the common cellular network to track the stolen vehicle.

The advantage is that cellular tracking is specifically designed for stolen vehicle recovery, and can pinpoint the exact location of the vehicle, even if it is underground or in a shipping container and this technology is supported by in-house tracking teams dedicated to 24/7 surveillance. Many insurers have seen positive results with this technology and many offer varying discounts on policies to have this type of device.

However, these systems have a higher upfront cost and require a yearly subscription plan for the service—the cost to maintain round-the-clock, as-needed surveillance. Also, should the vehicle be outside of regular cellular coverage or very deep underground, it will take longer to locate.

The bottom-line of today's climate is that drivers need to know more, and ultimately do more, to protect their vehicle. Car theft is big business, and the thieves running the chop shops and auto theft rings are incredibly sophisticated professionals.

The insurance industry plays a pivotal role in helping consumers understand the severity of today's auto theft problem and to provide tips and techniques to properly safeguard their vehicles.

Frederic Marcantonio, national director, Insurance at Boomerang Tracking Inc.