Insurance companies issue surcharge for 'high theft' vehicles

It's an epidemic across the country and it's costing insurance companies over a billion dollars a year with the bulk of that, several hundred million, right here in Ontario.

Vehicle thefts continue to explode and some insurance companies are looking at more direct ways to recoup their losses.

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According to Équité Association, Honda CRVs are at the top of the list of the most stolen vehicles in Ontario, followed by the Lexus RX series, Dodge Rams, Toyota Highlanders and Land Rover Range Rovers. An average of five vehicles are stolen in the nation's capital every day.

One Ottawa resident was shocked when a letter arrived from his insurance provider ahead of his policy renewing.

"I said, well, I really don't feel like paying this extra $400 a year or purchasing this tracker because of privacy concerns," said Austin Lonsdale.

His provider, Desjardins Insurance, said because his vehicle was a 2021 Honda CRV, it was identified as being at a high risk of theft and he had to pay a $400 annual surcharge or install a tracking system called Tag.

"Well, it does have privacy issues to me. I mean, I've been thinking about it and I mean, you know what? What would these people be doing? Who's going to be tracking the information or what are they going to be using it for? So there are privacy concerns there for sure," he said.

The letter said to call the insurance provider with the tracking system information.

In a statement to CTV News, Desjardins Insurance said in part, "TAG is a system for tracking and retrieving stolen vehicles and is not used to analyze driving habits and behaviours. Desjardins Insurance only receives information about the location of the vehicle after a theft is reported and when the police have retrieved the vehicle. Desjardins Insurance no longer offers to pay for a tracking system."

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says auto theft related claims in Ontario have increased 329 per cent between 2018 and 2022.

"That is a lot of money that insurers didn't account for in terms of calculating premiums because claims cost drive premiums. So as claims costs increase, insurers have to take a look at what they're charging for premiums, claims costs, put pressure on premiums," said Amanda Dean, the vice president for the Ontario and Atlantic Regions of the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

Lonsdale said the experience of finding out his vehicle was on the most likely to be stolen list has him reconsidering leasing the CRV again,

"I'm really leaning on not getting another Honda CRV. It's too bad because this is my second one and I was planning on a third, but now I'm starting to think of maybe going towards another vehicle that's not on the high theft list."