Keyless entry car theft CRISIS see £1million paid out a day in car insurance claims

There is a car theft crisis occurring in the UK as a result of criminals exploring the keyless entry system hack.

It is a method of theft which has grown in notoriety over the past few years due to its relative ease.

Experts believe that this is one of the main contributory factors in the increase in insurance claims for car thefts rising by 12 per cent to 56,000 in 2018 compared with 2017.

As a result of the rise in thefts, payouts were reported to have reached £1million a day.

Insurers paid out a whopping £376 million to cover stolen cars and thefts from cars last year, said the ABI.

This ‘worrying’ increase represents a huge 29 per cent spike in 2017. Theft claims are now reportedly taking place ever six minutes in the UK, representing a huge year-on-year increase.

Thatcham Research recently conducted some research which found that several new car models are vulnerable to keyless attacks.

German motoring body ADAC also found hundreds of car models at risk from this type of attack.

2019 Model Year cars and their security rating

  • Audi e-tron – Superior
  • Ford Mondeo – Poor
  • Hyundai Nexo – Poor
  • Jaguar XE – Superior
  • Kia ProCeed – Poor
  • Land Rover Evoque – Superior
  • Lexus UX – Poor
  • Mercedes B-Class – Superior
  • Porsche Macan – Poor
  • Suzuki Jimny – Unacceptable

However, despite the rise in thefts drivers experienced a reduction in overall premiums costs earlier this year due to competition in the market.

Laurenz Gerger, the ABI’s motor policy adviser, said: “The resurgence in car crime is worrying.

“The record amounts paid to motorists by their insurers in part reflects the vulnerability of some cars to keyless relay theft.

“Action by motor manufacturers to tackle this high-tech vulnerability, allied with owners taking some simple, inexpensive precautions will help reverse this unwelcome trend.”

Keyless entry car theft works by allowing a criminal to open and start your car without the presence of a key.

They typically use radio transmitters to intercept the signal that is transmitted from the key to trick the vehicle into thinking the key is present.

One transmitter is held near the house, typically but the front door while one is positioned next to the car itself.

Several videos have surfaced from police forces showing that car thefts can be done in seconds by criminals exploiting this flawed technology.

Recently, Which? analysed data on keyless entry to relay’ car theft from the General German Automobile Club (ADAC), which is a roadside recovery organisation.

ADAC tested 237 keyless cars from over 30 manufacturers including some of the most up to date vehicles for 2018 including the Jaguar I-Pace.

Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Golf, Nissan Qashqai and Ford Focus, some of the most popular cars in the UK are at risk of being stolen.

Check here to see which cars are vulnerable from keyless entry car theft.

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