Missouri vehicle theft rates climb; Insurance agents share tips to protect your car

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Police still have no new information on a string of vehicle break-ins captured on video in northern Columbia earlier this month.

CPD spokesman Brain McNeill told ABC 17 they don’t have any updates on an incident report that on Aug. 13 after ring camera video showed at least three people wearing black hoodies break into a car, with one of them keeping watch on the street while the other pointed a gun at a house while the third person smashed the window of a truck. It was one of three break-in attempts captured on video that ABC 17 obtained. 

The man who submitted one of the videos -- who only wished to be identified as Jared out of safety concerns – told ABC 17 on Monday that he still hasn’t heard from police since filing a report on Aug.13. At the time he said that police told him they had made “at least ten stops.”

According to a 2023 study from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), Missouri had the seventh-highest vehicle theft rate in the country in 2022. In 2023, the Show-Me State also ranked 10th in the country in vehicle theft rates by volume with 27,279 reported incidents. 

“Unfortunately, they have become more common than we'd like to then we really like to think about,” Phyllis Nichols, a Columbia State Farm Insurance agent said. 

Nichols is one of hundreds of insurance agents across the country who have to deal with vehicle break-in-related insurance claims each year. She says that while car break-in-related claims are not as common as deer hits or hail damage they are becoming more prevalent. Over a million vehicles were stolen in 2022, the highest amount since 2008. 

“Planning in advance is key. I mean,  it sucks to have the conversation with customers after the fact and they get to learn what they needed. But really the key is to have the talk with an insurance professional now and just make sure that you're properly protected,” Britton Steel, head of sales at Evertree Insurance said.  “A lot of people don't think that statistic will apply to them.” 

Both Nichols and Steel advise people who fall victim to a break-in to file a police report. If you file a claim they also recommend alerting your insurance company as soon as possible and submitting any video or receipts showing what was stolen/damaged to help the process run smoother. 

While no one can predict a car break-in Nichols says there are several steps you can take to prevent it from happening to you. This includes locking your car, using a blanket to cover up valuables, leaving spare keys out of your car, parking in a well-lit area, and not leaving your engine running while your car is unattended. 

“Don't leave your car while the engine's running. It's it doesn't save you that much time to turn it off and then start it right back up and it's just kind of a pure invitation for car thieves to go, Hey, there's a car running right now. Let's see kind of what's going on there. 

Nichols also believes heat can play a factor in car break-ins. 

“I know some folks, especially as hot as it's going to be, this week, they want to leave a little sliver open of their windows.  Not advisable because professional car thieves can, it's amazing what they can get done with just a little bit of room to be able to get into your car like that,” Nichols explained. 

Attaching a VIN to certain parts of your car can be a deterrent to potential thieves.  

“If you actually etch the VIN number or see like on doors or windows  or even on catalytic converters,  then it's one last thing because they know that if they steal your vehicle,  they've got to get that off of there before they can resell it.” 

Steel says that most insurance companies will cover vehicles stolen or damaged by a car break-in, which is usually covered under comprehensive insurance in an auto policy. However, oftentimes the aftermath falls under different deductibles. 

“If the car was stolen of course you're going to be turning in a claim but a lot of times maybe you just get a glass break-in, your glass breaks, sometimes you don’t turn that claim in because it will cost less than your deductible,” Steel explained. “Sometimes people don’t file a claim if glass gets broken because it will cost less than their deductible. The other part of your insurance is all of your contents that are in the car typically get stolen and get broken in so that’s a separate claim.  That falls under your renter's insurance. Your home insurance will also be subject to a deductible. Golf clubs get stolen, stuff like that, it's self-proclaimed. So you typically you'll have to pay two deductibles.  We really encourage you to just talk with your agent and just know what those deductibles are because once it happens,  it's just too late to talk about it then."

Steel added that the neighborhood you live in can also be a factor in how much you pay. 

“Technically, the insurance companies are rating based on crime score. So it's not a it's it's not reading based off a particular city. It's the crime score associated with where you live,” Steel said.  “So the answer is yes.  If you live in a higher crime zone,  you'll pay a higher rate  than if you live somewhere else.”