By Lewis Nibbelin, Analysis Author, Triple-I
Automobile thefts dropped 23 % nationwide in 2025, marking the second consecutive 12 months of historic declines, based on the newest evaluation from the Nationwide Insurance coverage Crime Bureau (NICB).
At 659,880 thefts, final 12 months’s drop constructed on the momentum of a 17 % decline in 2024, beforehand the biggest lower in whole thefts in 4 a long time. A number of jurisdictions skilled even higher year-over-year decreases, with car theft down by 39 % in Washington, 35 % in Colorado, and 34 % in Puerto Rico.
“Coordinated prevention efforts by regulation enforcement, auto producers, insurance coverage corporations, and the Nationwide Insurance coverage Crime Bureau are having a serious impression on car thefts nationwide,” mentioned NICB president and CEO David J. Glawe, including that such efforts “stay key to defending households, companies, and communities nationwide.”
Automobile thefts surged in 2020 to about one car stolen each 36 seconds, fueled partly by shutdowns throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Ranges remained elevated into 2023, which recorded greater than a million thefts as social media tendencies highlighting car safety system vulnerabilities gained traction.
Many tendencies focused Kia and Hyundai fashions, comprising six of the ten most stolen autos that 12 months. In response, each producers started implementing stronger prevention measures and software program updates, lowering their share of whole thefts from 21 % in 2023 to 14 % in 2025.
Regardless of total progress, car theft throughout the U.S. nonetheless happens each 48 seconds, the NICB reported. City communities are at higher threat, with greater than one-third of thefts concentrated within the prime ten metro areas in 2025. Accordingly, California – dwelling to 3 of the highest ten areas – recorded the best variety of car thefts in 2025, contributing greater than 20 % of the nation’s whole.
Past the direct monetary price of shedding these property, theft of autos or automotive elements add upward stress on auto insurance coverage charges, significantly inside areas identified to be high-risk. The fee to restore and exchange stolen autos can also be rising, compounding a market already impacted by mounting fraud and authorized system abuse throughout the nation.
Whereas systemic enhancements have helped enhance theft charges, car homeowners should take steps to assist mitigate their very own threat. Triple-I recommends the next precautions:
- Hold doorways locked and home windows shut anytime a car is left unattended.
- Conceal valuables within the trunk to forestall creating an extra goal on the car.
- Park in safe, extremely trafficked, and well-lit areas. In public parking areas, keep as shut as doable to protect cubicles or retailer entrances. Hold private garages locked.
- Contemplate anti-theft gadgets reminiscent of audible alarms and steering wheel locks. Many new automobiles embrace monitoring gadgets, which may also help find a stolen car, however these are additionally out there for buy and set up in older automobiles. Test with an insurance coverage skilled to find out how anti-theft gadgets can qualify policyholders for premium reductions.
- Exploit car identification (VIN) numbers. Quite a lot of regulation enforcement companies and insurance coverage databases can use a VIN quantity to make it more durable for automotive thieves to promote a stolen automotive or its components.
Staying protected by sufficient insurance coverage protection can also be important. Policyholders with auto insurance policies that meet state-required minimums might lack protection for car theft or injury from theft, which is usually supplied by elective complete insurance coverage.
