PROTON WIRA, TOYOTA HILUX HOT FAVOURITES AMONG THIEVES

654 Wira and 537 Hilux recorded for theft claims

GENERAL Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) yesterday revealed that Proton Wira and Toyota Hilux are the most targeted vehicle models by car thieves in the country.

Its chief executive officer, Mark Lim, said 654 units of Wira and 537 units of Hilux were recorded for vehicle theft insurance claims in the last 12 months.

However, according to the statistics issued by PIAM, vehicle insurance claims involving private cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles have declined by 23 per cent last year compared with the previous year.

Lim said on average, insurance companies paid RM14.7 million daily for vehicle insurance claims last year, with a whopping total of RM5.38 billion.

“The number showed a seven per cent increase compared with the RM5.02 billion in the same period in the previous 12 months. The claims comprised accidents, damages and theft cases.

“The number is alarming as insurance companies have to fork out more to pay for the claims, and it requires more initiatives to prevent cases such as thefts,” he said during a media briefing on the performances of general insurance sector in Malaysia at Wisma PIAM here yesterday.

He said the Perodua Kancil was ranked third in vehicle theft insurance claims with 378 units; Proton Iswara ranked fourth with 340 units; Perodua Myvi ranked fifth with 290 units; Proton Waja at sixth with 231 units; Proton Saga at seventh with 214 units; Honda Civic ranked eighth with 133 units; Honda City at ninth with 119 units and Toyota Vios at 10th with 117 units.

Lim said 5,625 private cars had been recorded for vehicle theft insurance claims, a drop from 7,610 units the previous year.

“Meanwhile, 8,874 units of motorcycles claimed for vehicle theft insurance, a drop from 11,009 units in 2016. And, 824 commercial vehicles made the claims, compared with 1,386 the previous year.”

He said the establishment of the Vehicle Theft Reduction Council of Malaysia Bhd (VTREC) had a positive impact in curbing vehicle theft, adding that this was reflected in the declining annual total.

“VTREC not only works with insurance operators, but has also obtained the cooperation of the police, Transport Ministry and Road Transport Department, and the support of Bank Negara Malaysia,” he said.