Car market, Crime, Financial Services, Insurance, Latvia

Balta transport and risk insurance head Kristaps Liecinieks said that the most popular car brands targeted by car thieves included BMW, Audi and Toyota, as well as seven to 12 years old automobiles.

“BMW, Audi and Toyota are at the top of the car brands most popular among thieves. They find BMW 5 Series is especially attractive. Yet our statistics of car theft claims shows that nobody is safe from thieves – motor own damage (MOD) compensations have been paid also to owners of Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, Subaru, Toyota, KIA, Nissan, Land Rover, Volvo, Mini, Hyundai, Opel and Lexus cars. At present, the value of car theft claims filed with Balta is in the range from EUR 1,200 to EUR 50,000. Thieves steal vehicles of all ages, but most often they cause losses to owners of seven to 12 years old autos,” said Liecinieks.

According to Balta representatives, car thefts from private homes are especially widespread this fall. Compared to the summer, car theft claims have risen by nearly 50 percent in the fall.

Most often, cars are stolen in order to dismantle them and sell their parts on the secondary market, according to the insurer’s data. High prices and limited supply of car parts have been fueling the illegal trade.

In 2017, Balta reported EUR 5.926 million in audited profit, up 47.2% against a year before.

In 2017, Balta raised gross insurance premiums by 17.6% y-o-y to EUR 88.922 mln and paid out EUR 46.929 mln in indemnities, up 5.5% against 2016.

Since June 2014, Balta belongs to Poland’s Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen S.A. (PZU).