Latest news with #ThatchamResearch
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Where does your stolen car end up? The parts of the world criminal gangs typically transport them to
Your stolen car could be halfway around the world in the blink of an eye as well-funded gangs have established a seamless supply network to ship pinched motors from the UK to various locations across the globe. And we can reveal the major routes organised criminal operations are typically taking to export stolen cars to different countries - with many of these vehicles ending up as far away as Africa. A new joint investigation by Thatcham Research and the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) has laid bare for the first time the international scale of UK vehicle crime operations. It found that a motor stolen in the UK is most likely to end up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 38.5 per cent of robbed cars exported there. With geography a key factor, Congo's central positioning on the African continent, deep seaport, and borders with nine countries make it an ideal distribution hub for stolen vehicles. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the second most common destination (20.1 per cent), followed some way behind by Cyprus (6.7 per cent). Despite the UK having the highest levels of in-vehicle security - such as trackers and immobilisers - in the world, a vehicle is stolen every five minutes, based on 2024 data. Earlier this week This is Money revealed Britain's most targeted cars, with Lexus and Abarth the brands proportionally most likely to be pinched based on the volume of thefts against the number of available cars in the UK. The investigation found that Jamaica and Georgia were the fourth and fifth most popular export markets for car theft gangs between the years 2021 and 2024. Respectively, 5.7 per cent and 5.1 per cent of stolen UK cars ended up in these countries. The huge spike in motor crime and illegal exports is being driven by a number of wide-ranging factors, including the scarcity of vehicle parts, desirability of certain markets and models, geopolitical events, and even natural disasters. Geography might play a key role in Congo, but flooding in the UAE last April is believed to be behind the surge in thefts of SUVs, with criminal enterprises exploiting the shortage of official replacement vehicles and spare parts by using stolen motors to fill the void. Thatcham gives the example that dealerships of targeted brands were quoted three months for the delivery of a replacement vehicle whereas it can take a ship just 25 days to travel from London Gateway to Jevel Ali, south-west of Dubai. Cyprus, like Congo, has a geographical pull; it's a gateway country to other destinations for parts and vehicles which border the Mediterranean. Jamaica, on the other hand, has seen a rise in part due to the imposition of an imported car tariff, making criminal trade more profitable. And because both Cyprus and Jamaica drive on the left, the high standard specification of UK vehicles and the steering wheel position are key factors in these markets appearing third and fifth respectively. The investigation reveals the typical routes taken by criminal organisations shipping stolen cars around the world Georgia is one of the countries that's seen geopolitical factors have an impact on the illegal vehicle market. Heavy sanctions and withdrawal of an official presence by manufacturers in neighbouring Russia has seen an increase in demand for vehicles and parts, with Georgia a key destination for stolen cars. The conflict in the region has also altered the types of vehicles being stolen, with pickup trucks rising to 16.8 per cent of vehicles intercepted in 2024, up from 4.7 per cent the year before. Chief research and operations officer at Thatcham, Richard Billyeald commented: 'Parts scarcity, vehicle desirability, natural disasters and geopolitical events is driving an illegal market in a wide variety of luxury cars, SUVs and pickups, with insurers settling claims worth £640m in 2024. 'We will continue to work with vehicle makers to improve vehicle security and establish how to remotely disable stolen vehicles in a safe manner, as well as making stolen parts more difficult to reuse.' Investigators open up a shipping container at Felixstowe amid suspicions stolen cars are inside Dispatches: Britain's Car Theft Gangs Exposed is on Channel 4 On Thursday, a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary showed the NaVCIS action attempting to tackle illegal exports of stolen UK cars. This included the dramatic opening of a shipping container at a UK port, revealing three pick-up trucks inside which were intended to be smuggled to Africa. As Thatcham's research highlights, the Middle East and Africa have a huge market for second-hand car parts, driving the demand for stolen cars in the UK which is also linked to illegal drugs market. Adam Gibson, an officer of NaVCIS, a privately funded force working with the UK police, carried out the sting along with his team, where the stolen cars were found stacked on top of each other with falsified paperwork. Mr Gibson said: 'They've got £40,000 plus per car. That's not how you load them in a container. This box is headed to Africa, which the roads out in Africa are obviously suited to this kind of thing.' A white pick-up truck Mr Gibson found had a 2022 number plate - but he determined that it was actually made in 2023 and had been reported stolen from Kent in January. He continued: 'Whereas we were finding Range Rovers worth £150,000, we're getting pickup trucks and SUVs worth £40,000 now. Stolen cars are stacked in the containers, sometimes with five models inside Casual theft has disappeared but criminal gangs have taken over Thatcham said the rise in vehicle crime is the direct result of organised gangs operating criminal businesses for huge financial gain, which now far overshadows the volume of 'casual thefts' seen in Britain previously. Billyeald said: 'Casual thefts and joy riding of the 1980s and '90s has all but disappeared, with vehicle manufacturers having succeeded in making it very difficult for amateurs to steal modern vehicles. 'However, the organised criminal gangs who have replaced them are well-funded and sophisticated in their approach, combining specialist electronic equipment with an international logistics network.' He said that a collaborative approach needs to be established in order to take down these criminal operations. 'Raising vehicle security alone will not prevent thefts, we believe that beating these criminals requires cooperation between government agencies, vehicle manufacturers and ourselves to reduce the value of stolen assets and therefore the incentive to steal them,' he told us.
The Sun
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Car insurance code that could be the key to finding cheaper insurance when you buy a new motor
A LITTLE-KNOWN code could be the key to unlocking cheaper car insurance. The average cost of motor insurance has fallen in recent months - from £621 in the final quarter of 2024 to £589 between January and March, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). But it always pays to cut costs where possible, starting with the model you choose. You may not have heard of the car insurance grouping system which places vehicles in certain cohorts and gives you an indication of what you're likely to pay for your premium. But how exactly does the system work, and how does your car insurance group affect what you pay? Here's what you need to know. What are car insurance groups? The car insurance grouping system was established by the ABI, which represents insurers, and Lloyds Market Association (LMA). These two bodies meet regularly to decide which insurance groups car and vans should be put into. The system is used by insurers to assess the risks associated with insuring a vehicle. Every time a new car gets a rating, it's added to the Group Rating System, managed by Thatcham Research. Car insurance groups are determined by a number of factors, including a new car's value (the showroom price) and the cost of replacement parts. How long it might take a mechanic to repair a vehicle after a crash and the type of brakes it uses are also used to decide what group it goes in. Five ways to cut your insurance costs Rhydian Jones, motoring expert at explained: "What group your car sits in depends on things like its value, security and safety features, top speed and acceleration, and potential repair costs. "Higher value cars with higher speeds, which are generally more costly to repair would be considered 'riskier' than others, and would therefore be in a higher insurance group. "Equally, those with anti-theft features, or more advanced safety features imply they're less likely to be involved in an incident, or stolen, which would put them in a lower insurance band." How groups affect what you pay and how to check what you pay The car insurance grouping system sees vehicles assigned a number from 1-50. Motors in the lower groups are the cheapest to insure while those in group 50 are the most expensive. According to insurer Allianz, a lower end Citroen C1 or a higher end Fiat 500 will likely be in groups 1-10. What is car insurance? Consumer reporter Sam Walker talks you through what car insurance is and what it covers you for... Car insurance pays out if your vehicle is stolen, damaged, catches on fire or is involved in an accident. As a minimum, it protects you against any damage you case to other road users, the public or their property - these are called third parties. You only need to claim on your car insurance when an accident is your fault. If another motorist is to blame, their insurance should pay out instead. Car insurance, unlike home insurance, is a legal requirement and if you don't have it you can be fined up to £1,000. You can also have your vehicle seized and destroyed. However, you don't need to insure your car if it is classed as "off-road", or holds a statutory off road notification (SORN). The vehicle has to be kept on private land and not a public highway though. A lower end Land Rover Discovery or higher end Porsche Boxster will be in groups 41 to 50. Of course, how much you'll pay for your car insurance is also dependent on other factors like your age, where you live and your estimated mileage. However, numbers crunched by comparison website MoneySupermarket show you could end up paying £640 more per year based on what group the vehicle is in. The figures below are based on policyholders who: are aged between 30 and 39 have no penalty points have held a licence for one year or more have a vehicle with just one person insured on it have an estimated mileage of 5,001 to 10,000 miles have no modifications on their vehicle use their vehicle for socialising and commuting Letters (suffixes) are also assigned alongside a vehicle's car insurance group number which tell insurers about a vehicle's level of security. The better level of security, the lower your insurance premium is likely to be. These are the suffixes and what they mean: A: Acceptable and meets the standard requirement for the car insurance group D: Doesn't meet requirements for the group, meaning the car has been placed in a higher group than normal E: Exceeds requirements for the group, meaning it's been placed in a lower group than normal P: Provisional, meaning not enough data was available when the car went on sale to rate the car's security level U: Unacceptable, meaning the car falls below security requirements and insurers may require an upgrade to security features before insuring it G: Grey import, meaning the car has been imported and will require extra checks to ensure it's legally okay to drive on roads There are a number of free-to-use tools where you can find what car insurance group a vehicle fits into, such as MoneySupermarket or Major change from early 2027 Thatcham Research is in the process of rolling out a new car insurance rating system, known as the Vehicle Risk Rating (VRR) system. It officially launched in September 2024 and applies to all vehicles registered after August 1, 2024. However, if you have a car registered before August 1, 2024, it will keep its old Group Rating. Meanwhile, both the Group Rating (1-50 scale) and new VRR scores are currently being provided to insurers, while only the Group Rating system can be seen by motorists online. Thatcham Research says the new VRR system will be the only rating system used for both insurers and motorists from early 2027.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Webinar: How a fresh approach to gauging risk will make modern cars insurable
Vehicle testing organisation Thatcham Research's new Vehicle Risk Rating represents the biggest change to the car insurance industry in decades. This new rating system, which scores cars from 1-99 across five assessment bands, has been designed to deliver more accurate insurance premiums. It replaces the current Group Ratings that have been in place for more than 25 years, and takes into account performance, damageability, repairability, safety and security. Ben Townsend, head of automotive at Thatcham Research, Victor Zhang, UK country director at Omoda and Jaecoo, Scott McCammon, head of motor repair at Admiral and Felix Page, deputy editor at Autocar will discuss what this change means for UK car insurance and the car industry as a whole. Join our webinar 'How a fresh approach to gauging risk will make modern cars insurable' on 8 May at 11:00 to find out more about this industry-changing shift, how the new rating system works, how the vehicles are assessed, and how Thatcham Research can assist manufacturers with the process. Click here to sign up ]]>
Telegraph
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Car insurance groups: Costs and how do they work
Every make and model of car in the UK falls into one of 50 car insurance groups. These groups are defined by the Group Rating Panel and published by Thatcham Research. The group rating system was designed to help insurers assess risk when setting car insurance premiums. Generally, vehicles that fall into group one are the cheapest to insure, while those in group 50 are riskier and the most expensive to insure. Note that for new cars registered after Aug 1 2024, group ratings have been replaced by a new Vehicle Risk Rating scheme. Cars registered before this will continue to use the traditional group rating system. Here, Telegraph Money explains the following: How do car insurance groups work? Car insurance groups Average insurance cost by group Can your car insurance group change? Other factors that affect your insurance premium How do car insurance groups work? The Group Rating Panel is made up of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Lloyds Market Association (LMA), and uses data provided by Thatcham, a risk intelligence organisation. When compiling the insurance classification for UK cars, the panel reviews more than 125 data points and considers the following factors: New car value: The more expensive the car when new, the more it will cost to replace or repair, putting it into a higher insurance group. Damage and parts costs: Insurers will aim to repair a car where possible. Vehicles with cheaper repair costs will fall into a lower group. Repair times: Longer jobs mean higher labour costs, which also affects the grouping. Performance: Vehicles with powerful acceleration and high speeds are at a higher risk of being involved in an accident, placing them in a higher group. Safety features: If a vehicle has improved safety systems, such as an Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system, it is less likely to be involved in an accident and will be placed in a lower group. Car security: Insurance claims tend to be lower for cars with fitted security devices, such as alarm systems and immobilisers, and these will fall into a lower insurance group as a result. Where security has been rated, a letter may also follow the insurance group number to indicate the result of the assessment: A = Acceptable. The car meets the set standards for its group. D = Doesn't meet the set requirements for its group, so the car has been placed in a higher insurance group. E = Exceeds the set requirements for its group, so the car has been placed in a lower insurance group. P = Provisional. The rating system was incomplete when the car was launched, so the data for the car is only provisional. U = Unacceptable. The car's security falls well below requirements. Insurers may require an upgrade to security features before it can be insured. G = Grey import. The car has been imported, so it can't be rated. Car insurance groups The table below outlines the different car insurance groups and examples of the types of cars that typically fall into each one:
