Your business can lose £16,000 through car crime

Vehicle-based companies lose an average of one vehicle each year but this can rise to three for those who have between 101 and 250 road vehicles in their fleet. Losing three vehicles can add

up to £50,000 in losses once stock and equipment is also taken into account. The new study from Verizon Connect reveals 58 percent of business fleet managers do not use simple tracking

technology to help locate stolen vehicles. It means just 44 percent of companies who report a vehicle stolen are able to recover their cars in a suitable condition. Speaking to 

Express.co.uk, Derek Bryan, spokesperson for Verizon Connect said: “Technology can not only track the location and status of a vehicle but can also remotely disable a vehicle’s ignition once

the vehicle’s engine has been shut off, effectively stopping vehicle misuse in near real-time.” Statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows car theft is up by seven

percent year-on-year in a major concern for small businesses across the UK. READ MORE: CAR THEFT: THIEVES' STOLEN VEHICLE 'SHOPPING LIST' REVEALED  However, companies could

see higher costs due to losing expensive and hard to replace tools used to carry out certain jobs. Research from Simply Business revealed the average claim for stolen tools among

tradespeople was £1,684 The study found one in three tradespeople experienced tool theft during their career as the number of insurance claims for stolen items soared by 54 percent over the

last two years. Bea Montoya, Chief Operating Officer at Simply Business said: “Unfortunately, it’s becoming increasingly common to see tools being stolen without leaving any visible sign of

forced entry. Across the UK, Home Office data shows the number of vehicles taken has doubled in the last five years as 300 are stolen each day on average. It means a vehicle is taken from a

UK resident once every five minutes in a devastating blow for concerned motorists. In relation to this, Derek explained: “For many businesses across the UK, vehicles and the equipment

inside, are their livelihood – theft represents a huge cost, not just in terms of the lost vehicle or equipment, there’s the additional cost through lost business. "With vehicle crime

on the rise, fleet and business managers need to be extra vigilant.” According to Police UK, most vehicle crime is easily preventable as motorists are able to protect their car from thieves.

They urge vehicle owners to remove everything of value from their car and make sure windows and sunroofs are shut before leaving a vehicle unattended. The location a car is important and

motorists are urged to always stop their vehicle in a safe well-lit location.