Safer parking brings bonus?
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by Lee Kirnber • Insurance companies are looking at ways to reward operators who make the effort to park up in secure compounds to cut the risk of truck theft.
Britain's biggest truck insurer. Norwich Union, believes the move is necessary after analysing its database of truck thefts.
It is convinced secure truckstops are a good deterrent. "The problem is that they are few and far between," says spokesman Neil Phillips. "They're inconvenient for drivers."
Insurers want to recognise that finding secure parking sites presents extra costs and hassle for busy drivers but are unsure of how cash incentives such as lower premiums would encourage them to do so.
They could even decide to use a stick instead of a carrot by imposing premium surcharges on hauliers who fail to improve the security of their parking places.
Norwich Union marketing manager Derek Plummer says insurance companies are having to toughen their stance because modern truck thieves can dismantle a truck and hide it within 45 minutes. "Trucks are often parked up in isolated places overnight so the theft is not noticed quickly," he told the European Secure Vehicle Alliance. "We'll be looking more closely at the security of places where these vehicles are parked."
Plummer says insurers are losing £600m a year to fast-moving thieves who often crate stolen trucks ready for export within minutes of stealing them, easily outwitting modern tracking devices. A third of all truck thefts occur at the weekend, giving thieves more time to hide, move and strip trucks. But even a truck stolen at 02:00hrs on a weekday can be in crates and on the dockside by morning.
Insurers plan to give discounts to hauliers who use the new generation of security devices but Norwich Union is