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By Greg Bartlett

Insurance companies issue policies that reimburse the insured for lost or stolen items. Everyone knows that as a fact. If the insured has full coverage on their vehicle, the coverage includes fire and theft. In a time that every dollar in the family budget counts, how can the insurance premium be reduced? The answer is to install a GPS tracking device in the vehicle. This device will result in lowered insurance premiums.

Insurance companies determine the rates that they charge by the type of vehicle and the location of the vehicle. Some areas have a higher incidence of auto theft than others. Additionally some makes and models of vehicles are more “attractive” to auto theft. The insurance company will provide a lower insurance premium to the customer if they have some assurance that the vehicle will be recovered should it be stolen.

Surprisingly, newer vehicles do not appear on most of the “most stolen lists.” In 2005, only one vehicle made after 2000 made the national top ten lists. The other nine were all made 8 or more years prior to 2005. Owning an “older” vehicle is no guarantee that the vehicle will not be stolen.

Where do these older vehicles go? There are generally three options that a car thief has when stealing an older vehicle. The vehicle is either simply taken for a joy ride or dumped into a lake, river or a deserted area after the joy ride. The vehicle may wind up in a chop shop to be dismantled for the component parts. In many cases the parts that go into the vehicle are far more valuable than the vehicle itself. In the last case, the vehicle can be driven over the border to Canada or Mexico. Another possibility is the vehicle is driven to a coastal port city, loaded into a container and shipped overseas. In any of these three cases, the vehicle is sold overseas at a cost that is far lower than a legitimate vehicle can be acquired for.

A GPS tracking device, once installed on the vehicle can provide authorities the exact location of the vehicle. Once the owner realizes that the vehicle has been stolen, the location of the vehicle can be determined and the proper local authorities can be notified for recovery and subsequent prosecution of the thieves.

This in itself becomes a win – win situation for both the owner of the vehicle and the insurance company. The owner of the vehicle recovers the car and the insurance company does not have to pay a claim for the theft of the vehicle. Due to the fact that the GPS tracking system was installed on the vehicle, a lower insurance premium could be provided to the owner. This lower insurance premium reflects the lower risk should the vehicle be stolen. GPS tracking can definitely save money on insurance premiums.