Insurers benefit from declining car theft

Insurance companies in Taiwan paid out NT$600 million less in compensation for stolen vehicles last year thanks to a decrease in rates of car and motorcycle theft, according to tallies released yesterday by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). The number of stolen cars and motorcycles dropped by 43,000 in 2006 compared to the previous year, with the car theft rate falling 31 percent and the motorcycle theft rate sliding more than 20 percent, bureau officials said, adding that the decreases have translated into a decline of NT$2.5 billion in property losses. Officials attributed the achievement to various operations launched by the police last year to address the high rates of theft in the country, a problem which has caused many insurance companies to refuse to provide motorcycle theft insurance

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