Confused as to why your vehicle insurance company require you to have a tracker installed?

Confused as to why your vehicle insurance company require you to have a tracker installed?

It is becoming increasingly more popular as a requirement for insurance companies to have a tracker installed to your vehicle in order to get a reasonable insurance quote or even qualify for vehicle insurance! This has only come to light in recent months due to an increase in vehicle theft. Thatcham’ the body that research, approve and assign security systems have said that ‘after two decades of decline, in 2015 some 75,656 incidents were reported resulting in a 9% increase.’

Of course the higher the value of the car, the more appealing it is to thieves. The top ten most targeted makes and models (listed below) are luxury cars apart from one surprise; the old Ford Escort. This is due to the model being discontinued back in 2004 and since being labelled a classic. This also means the parts are of high value to current owners as they are no longer in production so can be sold on at a highly profitable price. They are also an easy target as it would appear they have no modern security system installed. A more obvious choice is the current number one; the Audi S3 worth £32,330 or the discontinued, extremely desirable Land Rover Defender which has recently risen in value from £23,000 – £62,000.

The current most popular method of theft is ‘keyless vehicle theft’ where the vehicle electronic system is hacked. The MET Police have said they are dealing with very sophisticated thieves. A device is used to block radio signals, then another device is plugged into the on-board diagnostic port and the vehicles electronic information is downloaded onto a blank key. The vehicle can then be driven off with little – no damage and fuss. The process can take seconds.

‘NFU Mutual’ have required tracking systems on certain insurance policies since April this year. Generally, the higher Thatcham rating the security systems on your vehicle has, the more your insurance could come down or be approved. There are several differentThatcham categories which tracking systems fall in to. Police only recover 43% of stolen vehicles. However, 95% of vehicles with a category 5 tracker are recovered and 86% of those are within 24 hours! Alarms, immobilisers and locks can also be fitted as added security.

Beat the insurance compant – click here to find out more about installing a tracker to your vehicle.

Top ten stolen cars

Audi S3

Land Rover Defender

Land Rover Range Rover

Audi Q7

Ford Escort

BMW X5

Audi A5

Mitsubishi Shogun

BMW 5 Series

Toyota Hilux

Our insurance approved tracking systems

Traffic Master Trackstar

Lock products

Paul Randall

2024-03-14

First Class! Dave and the team are fantastic. The fit on our first Mobile Bike Service and Repair Van could not be any better. From the very beginning, through the design process, all the way to completion I cannot fault a single thing. As I write this, our second van is being fitted to exactly the same specification and the third van is on the way. Long may this partnership continue!

Tim Lees

2024-02-20

Very helpful and patient with an older guy who was a bit nervous ordering from a company I didn't know. The product I wanted wasn't on their website but I thought it worth asking and they had it at a good price. It came the next day and worked perfectly.

Richard Shepherd

2024-01-17

I highly recommend Lee, Dave and the Team at Vehicle Accessories after they did a fantastic job for a one off bespoke van fit for my business. I approached them with a rather radical high concept idea, Dave did a great job taking notes from my extensive brief. He made a great effort to listen and take notes along the way making sure he understood and made suggestions for materials which really led to a much better end product. A particular highlight was a suggestion for them to fabricate a wall mounted Steal Mesh cage system for my equipment which far exceeded my expectations of quality and engineering. During the planning stage and construction suggestions were made to change materials and systems for what they thought would work better for the project as it developed. The end product was perfect and done to a very high standard, it really turned out better than I ever hoped for. Communication throughout was excellent with regular updates, fast responses and easy dialogue when confirming details or discussing changes. Changes were managed quickly and efficiently throughout the build with a great deal of flexibility and professionalism. Even though I was just having just one bespoke build being done for myself I felt highly valued as a customer and treated with the same level of respect and attentiveness as someone ordering a fleet. The quality of work and customer service will certainly mean I’ll be coming back for my next van project.

Philip Taylor Ashby

2023-12-26

Lee and his helpful staff sorted my lock problem that made it easy to break in or steal and at there Christmas closing time🙏, friendly helpful and reasonable thank you all.

Mark Elliott

2023-05-23

Great choice of equipment to fit and all done efficiently. They have designed and fitted racking to 75 vehicle for us in the last year.

Ross Thomson

2023-05-20

I can’t recommend Lee and his team of wizards enough. They fitted the gas with all the safety requirements and modified / adapted several parts of the electrics. They went above and beyond my expectations - I won’t hesitate to use them again.

Andrew Young

2023-04-13

What can say.... the order process was simple, prices competitive and when it was realised that I had ordered 2 incompatible parts I got a call to check and recify the order. Collection was easy and the install team did a quick, neat job. Job done....until next time thank you

Annie Meadows

2023-02-28

Dave, Lee and the team at VA moved crates from my old van to a new one. Easy to communicate with, quick turn around, met all my requests, made good suggestions (such as putting in a waterproof floor) and did an excellent job. Highly recommend.

miles leech

2022-12-22

Big thanks to Dave and the rest of the Vehicle Accessories team. They've done a great job fitting security locks and a floor in my new van. They also moved over my racking and interior lights from my previous van while going out of there way to make it all fit. Excellent service, very efficient and professional. Highly recommended and nice people to deal with. Thanks Miles Ashton Gas