Thieves steal a mobile phone every 12 seconds in Britain, with Lancaster the worst hotspot, according to insurance company figures.
More than two million phones worth £390m were stolen in 2005, said Halifax Home Insurance, which collated the figures. This gives the average stolen phone a value of £195.
Halifax said the figures were based on its data combined with government statistics.
Previous official estimates have suggested about 700,000 phones are stolen each year.
After Lancaster, the highest number of insurance claims came from the North West area which includes Chester and the Wirral, and from Coventry, West Midlands.
Vicky Emmott, senior underwriting manager at Halifax Home Insurance, said: "Phones are constantly getting lighter and more compact which makes them easier for opportunistic thieves to swipe."
She added that phone users should avoid "walking while talking" and keep their mobiles out of sight.
Half of all street crime in Britain involves the theft of a mobile, according to statistics published in 2003.
Metropolitan Police chief Sir Ian Blair said last month that tackling the theft of mobile phones from schoolchildren was one of his top priorities.
