The blinged-out Cadillac Escalade SUV, a favorite of A-Listers such as Tiger Woods returns as the vehicle most votes in danger of being stolen, according to a group insurance industry. The F-250 crew cab pick-up, Infiniti G37 two-door car, with its high-powered Dodge Charger HEMI engine and Chevrolet Corvette Z06 round of the top five vehicles more likely to be the subject of insurance claims theft. Less easy target for thieves are family vehicles like the Volvo S80, Saturn Vue and Nissan Murano, Honda Pilot and Subaru Impreza.
Highway Loss Data Institute, which is part of the Arlington-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, calculated rates of car theft claim for model years 2007-2009. Data from the reports of thefts of insured vehicles on the road.
The Escalade, which starts at $ 62,495, has been ranked as the most stolen in six of the last seven reports. A complaint is filed the theft of a 100 Escalade insured, the group said, and the average insurance payment of $ 11,934. That compares with an average of $ 6,883 for all vehicles.
Nearly one in four claims theft Escalade is $ 40,000 or more. Escalade is equipped with anti-theft ignition immobilizer prevent starts without a special key, but that does not stop some thieves to haul them away in trucks, said Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president of the Highway Loss Data Institute.
“The thieves are after chrome, horsepower and Hemis,” she said.
Large SUVs like the Escalade has the highest overall theft losses, with large pads seconds. Hazelbaker said the trucks are going, for several reasons. Besides its appearance, large pickups can be used for work or that might be carrying a valuable tool or cargo.