Car stolen in man's final hours

A cancer patient had his car stolen from his Birmingham home while his family members were at his side during his final few hours, police said.

Thieves entered Scott Wright's home and took the car keys and his mother's handbag as the family gathered at his bedside on Wednesday night.

Mr Wright, 26, of Holliday Road, in Erdington, died the next morning.
To read the full story click here

Nice 1! - A USEFUL FREE RESOURCE TOOL FOR BROKERS

FREE ONLINE CAR SECURITY CHECK

The team at Nice 1, providers of Theft Protect Replacement Vehicle Insurance, are delighted to provide access to a great new resource for UK motorists that is totally FREE.

Type a postcode and registration number into this free online tool, confirm the vehicle make and model, and you are then presented with a security rating for that car and the location it is kept.

This solves the age old mystery for UK motorists – how to get free access to information about how safe from crime their vehicle is, or how safe the vehicle they are planning to buy is, according to the area where it’s parked in and the type of vehicle it is.

This unique tool also provides the ABI security ranking, and explains how that system rates male and female drivers according to age. Few people know that a female under 24 or a male under 30 will get discounts for driving vehicles between one and 20 ABI groups. Insurance will go up rapidly after ABI 20, and most insurers will decline above ABI 33. Females over 24 will get discounts for driving vehicles between one and 33 ABI and insurance will go up rapidly after ABI 33. Males over 30 will get discounts for driving vehicles between one and 33 ABI and insurance will go up rapidly after 33.

The security rating is an estimate based on government and industry vehicle crime data. The data is combined to take account of where the vehicle is kept overnight, the vehicle's theft desirability and manufactured security. Scores range from 'excellent' - nine stars or more - to 'extremely poor' - one star. An 'excellent' score has an approximate probability of less than 1-in-1000 chance of being stolen, broken into or vandalised over the year and 'extremely poor' has a greater than 1-in-10 chance."

The tool draws its data from the ABI and the Thatcham vehicle security site. Thatcham is the research and development unit owned by the UK insurance industry.

So, whether your customer is thinking of buying a new car, getting or renewing their car insurance, or simply want to find out how secure their car is, click the link below or to the right of the page.

Brokers should do this on behalf of the customer, as the link directs to an alternative insurance portal.

Click the back button once you're done to return to these pages.

With compliments & kind regards

The Theft Protect Team at Nice 1 Limited

CHECK CAR SECURITY NOW – CLICK THIS LINK

THE TOP 10 SAFEST & RISKIEST PLACES FOR CAR THEFT - CAR CRIME UK 2009

double click the map to see it larger then hit back button to return here

The team at Nice 1 Limited regularly produce car crime information for the UK motoring public and to assist the marketing efforts of our authorised Theft Protect agents.

For the first time in the UK, Nice 1 are delighted to produce the 2009 Car Crime figures by Post Code area. The information contained on the map above and tables below is extracted from the full Home Office statistics. Insurance companies and intermediaries frequently publish similar data, however, their data is only drawn from the sample of their own customers. The information reprinted here is the most accurate and current information compiled from the car crime incidents recorded by the UK police forces.

Full UK car crime data is available, both as incident counts per town or city, and as the detail below, on the basis of a count per 1000 head of population. The national average for car theft is around 7 per 1000. The map and tables below provide an indication as to the vulnerability to car theft offences in the safest and riskest places in the UK.

THE TOP 10 RISKIEST PLACES FOR CAR THEFT

THE TOP 10 SAFEST PLACES FOR CAR THEFT

Nice 1 Ltd collate car crime statistics from Home Office and police sources in order to provide the UK motoring public with the most accurate picture of car crime across the country and in specific areas. In addition to the offences per head of population, information is also gathered about the number of incidents recorded per town and city.

Further details may be requested by e mail at the contact address at the foot of the page or by clicking the contact me button elsewhere on these pages.

CAR CRIME UK - NICE 1 LAUNCHES NEW ANALYTICS SITE

• The crime analysis team at Nice 1 Ltd are delighted to announce that a new site has been launched to provide "At-A-Glance" reviews of the recently released Home Office crime figures.
• The new site, launched to co-incide with the ITV1 series presented by trevor McDonald, presents information in easy to view formats, enabling the consumer and trade professionals to quickly identify crime trends by each geographical district in the UK.
• The reports are often incisive and frequently contraversial in their findings, placing a different slant on the variances between recorded police crime and the much larger incident numbers that go unreported.
  

To view the new site click here


Happy reading!


The Crime Analysis Team
Nice 1 Ltd

Car Crime UK - Going Up Not Down? Car Dealer Magazine Article

click the image above to see the article in full

The team at Nice 1 are pleased to report that a further article has appeared in the popular Car Dealer Magazine.

Car Dealer is circulated in print and electronic format to over 15,000 motor industry professionals across the UK.

The article, analysing the recent crime statistics published by the Home Office, provides an independent insight into the real picture of car crime in the UK.

The article findings come as Sir Trevor McDonald fronts a big six-part ITV1 series on car crime.

Producers say the series highlights the 170,000 cars stolen in the UK each year - with Police forces in Manchester dealing with a 'huge increase in criminals who break into houses to steal keys'.

Within all of this are several areas insurance companies and brokers should consider. After seeing the shows on TV, your customers have the topic fresh in their mind and may well ask you how they might ne protected in the event of car crime. . . . best to be prepared!

To view the article, click here or the image above.

Nice 1 provide Theft Protect Replacement Vehicle Insurance to the insurance and motor sectors. The company also produces regular up-to-date car and burglary data for the benefit of the UK motoring consumer and our insurance and motor partners.

Feel free to explore these pages and previous articles to find out more about how Theft Protect can help you, your customers and your business.

Car Crime UK - "Car Key Theft" - First Of A New Series With Sir Trevor McDonald

In case you missed it, Trevor McDonald presented the first of a new series on ITV last night, which takes a look at the work of specialist police car crime teams, focusing on two areas - Manchester and Devon and Cornwall.

To watch the program, click here or the image of Trevor above. A 6 minute highlight video of the program is featured lower down this page.

The program presents a front row seat into the work of the police fighting the battle against car crime in the UK.

As regular readers of these pages will know, the team at Nice 1 provide regular updates for the UK motorist on car crime in your area. This includes information about the most popular cars stolen by car thieves, top tips to keep your car secure, and choosing your car insurance provider.

CAR KEY THEFT

Following the release of the latest crime figures by the Home Office, Nice 1 are busy analysing the report so that we can keep you informed over the coming weeks. "Car Key Theft" as it has become known, is an increasingly worrying development in the modus operandi of the UK car criminal. Improvements in car security have made the theft of newer cars more difficult, so they take the dramatic next step, breaking into your house to steal the keys.

The trend is more worrying than the crime figures reveal though.

18,599 cars were stolen last year by stealing keys. However, these numbers are reported as "Burglary Dwelling House" or "Robbery" (for incidents such as car jacking).

This has the effect of artificially supressing the car crime numbers. One of the Home Office reports suggest car theft has decreased by 7.4% in 2008 against the 2007 incidents.

When the 18,599 incidents are added back to the car theft numbers, it reverses the trend to a 4% increase.

A copy of the Nice 1 analysis report has been sent to the Shadow Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP for his comments.

Nice 1 are the providers of Theft Protect, a unique like-for-like replacement vehicle insurance policy designed for victims of car theft.

Cover is available for up to 28 days, with a wide range of replacement vehicles to keep you mobile in the unhappy event that your car is stolen.

Theft Protect is available through a network of UK Insurance brokers, motor manufacturers, dealers and car finance companies.

Police warn drivers not to hide car keys at home... to avoid violent clashes with burglars

Drivers should not hide their car keys when at home because it risks a violent confrontation with burglars, a policeman has warned.

The controversial advice was given after a case in Clifton, Lancashire, where a 16-year-old burglar murdered a pensioner for his car keys.

Speaking after the killer was jailed for life, a vehicle crime specialist from the Metropolitan Police said: 'I'd rather they broke in and found the keys and nicked my car than have them wake me up in the middle of the night because I value my life and like a good night's sleep.'If we say hide the keys then we are actually putting people at risk of ending up in the sort of situation which happened in Lancashire.

'However, an official spokesman for the Met said the comments did not represent their official advice, which was to keep car keys out of view.

It is estimated that more than 50 people a day across the UK have their cars stolen by burglars who ransack their homes and drive off with the spoils in their victim's vehicle.

A total of 15,741 cars were stolen last year by burglars who got hold of the keys after breaking into victims' homes while a further 2,858 were taken by force in robberies and car-jackings.

According to insurance and car crime experts that figure is rising at more than 15 per cent a year.Around 11 per cent of the reported stolen every year are as a result of the keys being taken during a house burglary or violence against drivers.

In recent months police from forces as far a-field as Warwickshire, West Yorkshire, West Mercia, Northampton, Kent and Manchester have all released car key burglary warnings.

'The amount of car key burglaries we have been dealing with has increased significantly,' said Asmar Chaudry, a spokesman for Greater Manchester Police.

'It's because security systems in cars have improved so much that the only way you can actually get into them is by using the keys. It's not a problem that's restricted to one place, it's a nationwide phenomena.'

HOW WOULD YOU COPE IF YOUR VEHICLE WAS STOLEN ?

We sincerely hope that it will never happen to you, but the fact remains that no matter how much money is thrown at vehicle protection, the determined vehicle thief continues to ply his trade.

In the time it takes to read this page, three more vehicles will be stolen or taken without the owners consent.

MYTH: Every customer who has their vehicle stolen will be provided a replacement vehicle by their insurance company.
FACT: It is remarkable that only a small number of insurance companies offer any kind of solution, leaving the vast majority of the 30 million UK motorists exposed.
MYTH: But surely I will get a courtesy vehicle?
FACT: No courtesy vehicle will be provided whilst your car remains un-recovered (typically 10 - 14 days) and NOT when your vehicle is written off.

We are pleased to introduce you to Theft Protect, not previously available in the UK, protecting you in the unhappy event of your vehicle being stolen.

For a small annual premium, you can now obtain a like-for-like replacement vehicle facility for up to 28 days, allowing you to get mobile again with the minimum of fuss should the unhappy event of your vehicle being stolen.

Theft Protect is available from a UK network of insurance brokers. When buying your vehicle insurance, insist they include Theft Protect.

Click the links on these pages to find out more, or e mail us at enquiries@nice-1.co.uk