Auto theft insurance claims in Toronto have skyrocketed by 561% since 2018, contributing to claims exceeding $1 billion across Ontario.
Insurance claims resulting from auto theft have surged dramatically in the Greater Toronto Area and throughout Ontario in recent years, according to new data from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).
The organization’s data, released on Tuesday, shows that auto theft claims in Toronto soared from just over $56 million in 2018 to nearly $372 million in 2023, marking a staggering increase of 561%. This trend mirrors the rise across the province, where auto theft claims surpassed $1 billion last year for the first time, reflecting a 524% increase compared to five years ago.
Toronto remains the leading city in Ontario for the total value of auto theft claims, followed by Brampton, where claims have risen 719% since 2018 to exceed $93 million last year. Mississauga saw a 533% increase to nearly $90 million in claims, while Vaughan experienced a 789% surge to just over $62 million, and Markham witnessed a 989% increase to $43.6 million.
Other cities also reported significant jumps in claims, albeit with lower total values. For instance, the total value of auto theft claims in Whitby increased more than twentyfold from $512,751 in 2018 to over $12 million in 2023, representing an astonishing rise of 2,269%. Claims in Pickering grew more than tenfold from $802,520 in 2018 to nearly $11 million last year. Additionally, cities like Milton, Markham, Oakville, Richmond Hill, and Ajax saw claims escalate by more than 800% over the same five-year period.
Police services throughout the Greater Toronto Area have raised alarms over the past year about a rise in increasingly violent auto thefts. They have highlighted that auto theft has evolved into a sophisticated industry, with hundreds of vehicles stolen in the province being exported to foreign markets. The profits from these crimes are often used to fund other illicit activities.
In April, police announced that they had recovered nearly 600 stolen vehicles from shipping containers at the Port of Montreal over the past few months as part of an interprovincial auto theft investigation. The majority of these vehicles had been stolen from the GTA.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada is advocating for a national action plan that includes strategies to make it more challenging to transport and export stolen cars.
