How Car Thieves are Stealing Your Car, How You Can Stop it and Why Your California Car Insurance Company Cares

How Car Thieves are Stealing Your Car, How You Can Stop it and Why Your California Car Insurance Company Cares

The average car thief can hotwire a car in less than a minute.

You would be absolutely amazed at the new, fun and ingenious ways car thieves are finding to rip off your car. I don’t often like to take a wander off the beaten course, but I have to admit I was shocked, appalled and even a little bit impressed when I was doing the research for this article. Why? Because it’s absolutely astonishing how creative today’s California car thieves can be.

That said, let’s take a look at how these thieves are stealing your car, what you can do about it and why you’ve got your California car insurance provider looking over your shoulder every step of the way.

Creative Break-In Solution Number One: Don’t steal cars in broad daylight…unless you’re well out of sight.

You know, you’d think this would be an obvious one. Don’t steal cars without a little darkness to cover you up! But you would be amazed at exactly how many auto thefts take place in broad daylight from car lots, warehouses, garages and other places where a thief would be well out of sight and where a car driving in (or out) isn’t going to catch anyone’s eye.

Since hundreds of insurance claims stem from vehicles stolen in broad daylight California car insurance companies recommend that you always, always, always, without fail, remember to lock your car and park somewhere where there aren’t a lot of trees, walls, bushes or houses to hide a would-be thief.

Creative Break-In Solution Number Two: Brush up against the car and see if an alarm goes off.

How often have you stood in the middle of a crowded parking lot and listened to the annoying BEEEEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEEEEP of a car alarm that someone just happened to bump into walking past? Heads up! Those innocent and slightly befuddled bystanders standing on Hollywood Boulevard might actually have been car thieves on the prowl.

If that car alarm hadn’t gone off that car could have been halfway to Reno before anybody noticed. There’s a good reason most California car insurance companies are offering great car insurance rates to drivers with car alarms in their vehicles.

Creative Break-In Solution Number Three: Have a CLUB? Cut the steering wheel!

The manufacturers of the CLUB thought they were soooooo smart when they first came out with a steering wheel locking technology. That is, until the car thieves went one better and found a way to cut the CLUB right off the steering wheel! The moral of our story? If you’re counting on the CLUB to save your car from being relocated, don’t. You’re just going to be bitterly disappointed.

If you were to ask a California car insurance agent what they thought was the best way to stop a thief from breaking through your CLUB and taking off with your car, they’d probably laugh. Hey, when you’ve got the highest auto theft rates in the United States you have to have a sense of humor somewhere! As soon as he got done having a very good laugh at your expense, however, he’d probably recommend you consider installing a fuel switch that blocks the fuel from reaching your engine if a thief tries to liberate it. Chances are, it’s going to be a LOT more effective.

Why Your California Car Insurance Provider Even Cares

Hey, he doesn’t want to have to pay to replace your car any more than you do!

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