The number of vehicles stolen in 2004 dropped by about 10% - or 10,000 fewer than in 2003 - but some cars are still proving more attractive to thieves, according to the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVRTC).
Nearly 85,300 vehicles were stolen during the year, which equates to about one theft for every 167 registered vehicles on Australian roads.
But thieves are becoming more predictable in the vehicles they choose to steal. Last year one in five vehicles stolen were Holden Commodores. "Whether it was an older VN stolen for joyriding or a later model VX stolen for profit, Commodore remains the top choice of vehicle thieves with more than 16,000 stolen in the year," the NMVTRC said in its Theft Watch newsletter.
While car theft dropped in all states and territories, the ACT and WA recorded the highest decreases, with a 38% and 22% drop respectively.
"The substantial reduction in theft over the last four years has clearly been related to opportunistic or short-term offending rather than professional or organised theft for profit."
FSL makes headlines
The mainstream media is finally starting to catch up on the fire services levy (FSL) issue in NSW and Victoria.
Yesterday the Australian Financial Review reported what the industry has been trying to tell state governments and citizens for years - that Victorian and NSW policyholders are among the highest taxed in the world.
Last year ICA - which has been campaigning with other industry associations for more than a decade to abolish the tax - said it would "re-prioritise campaigning for FSL in 2005" placing it lower on its to do list.
ICA said it needed to focus on other issues because the NSW and Victorian governments - which both held reviews into the tax, but decided to stick with the current system - weren't listening.
Grahame Morris, a partner at Jackson Wells Morris who acted as a consultant to ICA last year, said at last November's Insurance Outlook Conference that the industry will find it "very hard to make headway on an issue that adds political hurt to a government".
But the fact that the issue is making headlines in the mainstream media is a good sign, according to ICA spokesman Rod Frail.
ICA is currently collecting taxes data in NSW to "supplement the submission made to the NSW review last year".
"We want to give the [NSW] Government a more accurate picture of the taxes," Mr Frail said.
Report warns on natural hazards
Tropical cyclones and floods have caused more than 70% of known natural hazard deaths since European colonisation of Australia began in 1788, according to a new report.
"Tropical cyclones, floods, thunderstorms and bushfires together produced 93.6% of known building damage, suggesting that geological, as opposed to meteorological hazards, have been relatively unimportant - at least in the period since 1900," the report says.
Compiled by leading Australian natural hazards expert Professor Russell Blong for the Benfield Hazard Research Centre, the report says integrated risk assessment "is extremely important for gaining a full understanding of the range of perils and their likely risks that a country could face".
Thunderstorms, particularly lightning and bushfires, each account for 11 to 13% of deaths, indicating the other hazards considered produced very few human deaths, at least in the past 200 years.
"It is sub-optimal to look at the risk of one peril at a time," Professor Blong said. "It doesn't make sense to charge premium for a house for a 1-in-500 year earthquake if no premium is charged for the same house when it is flooded on average every 100 years."
"Annual insured property losses vary dramatically from year to year, but have averaged nearly $500 million in current dollars over the last 35 years."
Back to Top
Information provided in this newsletter is sourced from various sources including the Sunrise Exchange News letter. Where the information is sourced from the Sunrise Exchange newsletter, it is reproduced without change or amendment. Information in the Sunrise Exchange newsletter is produced exclusively for Telstra eBusiness Services each week by McMullan Conway Communications, producers of Insurance & Risk Professional magazine. Editorial inquiries should be directed to editor@insuranceandrisk.com or by phone on 03 9499 5538. Action Insurance Brokers subscribes to this news service and passes on information deemed relevant to our clients, without any alteration or expression of opinion.
Action Insurance Brokers P/L and its subsidiary companies exclude any warranty as to the quality or accuracy of any information contained in this message and any liability of any kind for the information contained in this newsletter, or for its transmission, reception, storage or use in any way whatsoever.
