Essex and London are top spots for criminal insurance claims

Ilford, Romford and West London are the three most likely postcodes in the country for people to make a
claim for car crime, according to research by MoneySupermarket.

In contrast, the three safest places are Perth, Carlisle and Shrewsbury. Crime will be a factor in an underwriter’s assessment, so the research goes some way to explaining the varying price of car insurance in different parts of the country.

The most common type of complaint is theft, making up half of all claims, followed by vandalism at 40% and theft of contents at 7%.

MoneySupermarket car insurance expert Peter Harrison said: “While there are clearly some areas of the country with a higher proportion of insurance claims for car crime than others, this doesn’t mean the area is rife with crime.

“Thieves often target areas with a high number of cars parked on the street, such as urban areas where space is at a premium and fewer houses have garages.

“Alternatively, quieter areas can also often be targeted, where there’s not a lot of passing traffic, where the rewards are potentially greater and the risk of being caught in the act may be lower.”