With Colorado leading the country in auto thefts, insurers are now declining to cover certain car models with high theft risks.
Twenty-two state attorney generals, including Colorado’s, sent a letter last week urging further action from carmakers Hyundai and Kia to address the elevated theft risk of their car models that were not equipped with anti-theft devices.
According to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, Colorado had the highest number of motor vehicle thefts in the nation in 2021. Motor vehicles thefts in the state increased another 17.2% through the first six months of 2022.
Motor vehicle thefts in Denver, Aurora, Westminster and Pueblo account for more than half the vehicles stolen statewide in the first quarter of 2022, the association said. In Longmont, according to the FBI Index Crimes, motor vehicle thefts jumped from 278 in 2018 to 406 in 2020, 382 in 2021 and 369 in 2022.
The Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Tuscon, Kia Optima and Kia Sportage were all within the top 10 most stolen vehicles in Colorado, the 2021 Colorado Auto Theft Annual Report found.
“This may be attributed to well-publicized vulnerabilities in the vehicle electronic entry
and ignition systems to technology-enabled devices,” the report said.
These two companies did not supply vehicles with anti-theft immobilizers as standard equipment in many models sold in the United States, despite doing so with their vehicles sold in Canada and Europe. By 2015, these immobilizers were standard equipment on 96% of other manufacturers’ vehicles, compared to 26% of Hyundai and Kia models, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser joined 21 other states’ attorney generals in sending a letter to Kia and Hyundai demanding more action from the carmakers to address the issue.
“Alarmingly high rates of theft of these vehicles have been sustained over a long period of time,” the letter said. “Your consumers continue to be harmed as a result, and worse yet, the thefts contribute to an erosion of public safety as they are frequently accompanied by reckless driving and the commission of other crimes, further endangering our communities.”
Immobilizers became standard equipment on Kia and Hyundai’s vehicles in November 2021. The companies have recently announced a customer service campaign, involving warning stickers, longer alarms and a software upgrade to address the vulnerabilities in vehicles currently operating.
However, the letter argues that the manufacturers are not doing enough, especially as major insurance companies have announced they will no longer accept new policies for certain Kia and Hyundai model years. According to the Denver Post, Allstate, State Farm and Progressive will be limiting new policies for high-theft-risk vehicles in certain regions, though existing customers will continue to be insured.
“Beyond dealing with the risk of having their vehicle stolen, Hyundai and Kia owners are now facing the threat of being unable to insure their vehicles,” the attorney generals’ letter said. “Major insurance companies are now refusing to insure the Hyundai and Kia models most susceptible to theft. In states where insurance is required to own and operate a vehicle, the inability to obtain car insurance can mean that certain Hyundai and Kia owners can no longer legally drive their car.”
The letter urges the car manufacturers to do everything in their power to accelerate the implementation of the software upgrades and provide free alternative protective measures for owners whose cars cannot support the software upgrade.
