Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) is reminding the public that a stolen vehicle means more than the loss of a valuable object and personal transportation. It can lead to fraud and fuel criminal behaviour, and every year, stolen vehicles cost Manitobans millions of dollars.
MPI insures more than 950,000 vehicles in the province. On average, 4,000 vehicles are reported as stolen to MPI every year. Those stolen vehicles mean MPI is paying $40 million a year in damage and total replacement costs.
“With the cost of vehicles and repair costs going up, the net cost to Manitobans for stolen vehicles will continue to climb, and the number is very high,” said John Bowering, Vice President & Chief Claims Officer at MPI. “We can all help mitigate those costs by practicing prevention, whether something as simple as ensuring your doors are locked to watching out for other vehicles parked on the street and reporting anything suspicious.”
July is Vehicle Theft Prevention Month, which is a good reminder to us all on practices we can put in place to reduce the risk of vehicle theft:
- Never leave your vehicle running unattended
- Never leave your vehicle keys/fobs unattended, and consider where you keep your keys at home so potential thieves cannot use technology to copy the fob’s signal and create their own key
- Park in well-lit areas or a locked/secure garage
- When parking your car, always close the windows and lock the doors
- Put valuables and packages in the trunk, where they are not visible
MPI says that vehicle theft costs everyone, and we all need to do what we can to protect our vehicles from being stolen.
