Deterring car thieves: Security system a must

THE VICTIM: Kathy Detherage, Modesto

THE VEHICLE: 1992 Toyota Camry, stolen October 2005

THE STORY: "It was parked in my employer's lot (at The Bee). I looked around after work, but it wasn't there. I called the police and we waited two hours and they never came. My daughter finally picked me up and we went to the police station at 8 p.m. The next day I got a call just before 5 and some employees at MOCSE (credit union two blocks away) saw some people wiping off fingerprints on a car. Police called and said they were towing my car. I was just a block away and beat the tow. I begged the police to take fingerprints. … There were pictures left that weren't mine and even a pair of pants. They took my eyeglasses and left theirs. The MOCSE employees even described the thieves and showed where they went, but the two women taking the report didn't care. … I called the police to complain and he said they had more important matters, like people being stabbed or killed.

THE COST: "I lost my stereo, and the axle or steering is broken."

THE QUOTE: "I got my car back, but what about the next person?"

Hyundai taken for parts, scrapped

THE VICTIM: Daniel Marsh, Modesto

THE VEHICLE: 1999 Hyundai Accent, stolen July 2005

THE STORY: "They stole it from in front of my house in west Modesto. They stole it for parts. The CHP found it three weeks later. I gave the tow yard the pink slip. It was compacted for scrap. I had to get a another car, and it's a hassle just looking for one. Since Modesto leads the nation in car thefts, I was hoping they'd increase funding for the (Stanislaus County Auto Theft) Task Force. We need more money. I started a Web site for people who have lost cars. I want the Board of Supervisors to increase funding to $2 a car (on vehicle registrations)."

THE COST: "The car's value was $3,700, and I lost tools, a compressor and battery charger. The tires were gone. I had never been stolen from."

THE QUOTE: "Everyone should have comprehensive (insurance) to cover theft. It's cheaper than collision insurance if it's an old car."

— Compiled by Bee staff writer Roger Hoskins

"We would expect to see that when we build our rates," said Dean Shibler, an Allstate insurance agent in Modesto for five years. "What we pay because of auto theft in an individual community is definitely a factor."

But how much it affects rates is hard to pin down. Insurance companies have their rates approved annually by the California Department of Insurance.

A department spokesman said because car thefts are based on a car owner's home address rather than where it's stolen, it's not always accurate to associate a city or region with more thefts. "There's not a scientific way to determine the rates, and I don't know exactly how the companies would use that information," spokesman Norman Williams said.

Russina Sgoureva, a product manager with insurance company Progressive's drive division, said companies have to explain their basis for a rate to the state.

She said theft numbers are just one variable in those rates, though a driver's history, a vehicle's mileage and how long someone has been driving are the top three factors, all having equal weight in a rate's determination.

For example, if a car has been stolen or in an accident before, that can mean higher rates, she said. The same is also true of car makes that have high theft rates. A Honda Accord, for example.

But when all those other factors are the same, insurance in Modesto still costs more.

Sgoureva figured the rate on a married couple with a good driving record and a new Honda Accord and new Toyota Camry in Modesto and Santa Rosa, cities of comparable population.

In Santa Rosa, a six-month policy for comprehensive coverage on those two cars was about $61 a month per car. The same policy for the same period and the same cars in Modesto is about $101 a month per car, almost 66percent higher.

"Every insurance has to show a rate and how exactly it's tied to loss experience," Sgoureva said. Though other factors play a role, theft makes the biggest difference in comprehensive rates, she said.

Aida Tovar, a broker with Golden Oaks Insurance Agency in Ceres, said the rates can be different even within a city.

In Modesto, she said, her company sees more claims and more thefts on the north side. As a result, she said, rates for people living at addresses there are slightly higher.

Drivers who don't have comprehensive coverage — meaning coverage for both damage to other vehicles and the owner's vehicle — shouldn't worry as much about vehicle thefts affecting their rates, said Bob Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America.

"Whatever theft is going on is embedded in the comprehensive experience," he said. "And even if there's double the thefts, it doesn't double the rate. I would tell people not to be particularly concerned."

People who have been victimized by car thieves said insurance often is little help.

Lori Pacheco of Turlock said her daughter Kaylene Vieira didn't have full coverage on her 1996 Ford Mustang because that would have cost more than the car was worth.

So when the car was stolen in January, and police found it stripped and torched three days later, the insurance policy they had was useless.

"We had to pay the wrecking yard to get the car back," Pacheco said. "There's nothing to show for it. It just costs the victim money."

Even a person who bought full coverage said he was disappointed.

Arnold Armas of Turlock said he had comprehensive coverage for his 1990 GMC extended-cab pickup when it was stolen three years ago.

He got $500 for it, less than half of what he said the truck was worth. The truck was recovered 18 months later — stripped. He said no one was ever arrested.

Car insurance experts said even getting a stripped vehicle back is better than no recovery, because an insurance provider can at least recover some of the loss that way, even if it's just selling the remains for scrap.

If an insurance company's losses are less, it also can keep rates lower, experts said.

"Guys like me just get burned all the way around," Armas said.

He said he put alarms on the truck, but they weren't activated when it was stolen from his garage.

Still, Allstate agent Shibler said taking preventive measures such as that can bring down a premium price.

Sgoureva said that her company doesn't discount for items such as car alarms, but gives a 20percent discount for items such as OnStar that allow vehicle tracking.

"Many carriers offer discounts or deterrents," he said. Such price-reducers include LoJack devices that allow someone to track a vehicle, as well as car alarms and even the Club.

The long-term way to bring down rates as a result of car thefts, though, is fewer car thefts, Shibler said.

Bee staff writer Ben van der Meer can be reached at 578-2331 or bvandermeer@modbee.com.