May misery as thieves strike

Watch out there's a thief about this month. New research by Carole Nash Insurance reveals that May is when you are most likely to be a victim of bike theft, with Sundays the most popular day of the week for the thieves.

For the first time the company’s annual Carole Nash Motorcycle Theft Survey has analysed not just where bikers are most at risk, but when. The new analysis of all claims received from its 250,000 motorcycle policyholders suggests bikers living in Greater London, the North West, Dartford, Sunderland, Northants and Hull should pay extra attention to securing their bikes this month as they top the geographic theft league table. They should be even more cautious if they own an R1 – the thieves bike of choice.

“Sadly we are seeing the usual suspects topping the league table. The London boroughs always fare badly and Manchester is consistently among the highest risk areas outside the capital,” commented Carole Nash’s Head of Operations, Dave Bowcock. “The North West is generally always among the worst outside areas outside the capital, as are Sunderland, Dartford and Hull. Northants has been steadily climbing too.”

Commenting on high risk months, Mr. Bowcock added. "May has probably emerged as the highest risk month because the weather starts to become more consistently drier and more bikes are on the road. More bikes mean more opportunity. I really would urge bikers to be extra vigilant and invest in the best security they can afford.”

The survey revealed that the highest risk area was north London with the N postcode moving up from second place in last year’s league table to edge west London out of the top spot. The central London postcodes N, NW, W, SW, E and SE took six of the top 10 highest risk spots. Manchester bikers suffered the highest risk outside the capital and the city was the only place in the top ten not within the Greater London area.

Scotland once again propped up the table with Galashiels, Dumfries & Galloway, Inverness, Falkirk and Kirkcaldy among the top ten lowest risk areas. But it wasn’t all good news for the Scots with bikers living in Aberdeenshire and Lothian enduring higher than UK average theft risks. Other UK hotspots included St. Albans which had the ninth highest theft rate outside London, Cardiff, with the tenth and Dudley with the 11th.

The top three most stolen bikes were the Yamaha YZF R1, Honda’s CBR 600 F and the YZF R6, whilst by far the highest number of thefts took place from owners’ garages and driveways.
* In a bid to help bikers better protect their machines, Carole Nash recently teamed up with MCN to offer free pager alert systems worth £100+ with every Acumen Thatcham-approved category one alarm immobiliser purchased through its specialist security division, Carole Nash Secure. In addition the company cut £120 off the manufacturer’s list price, will fit the immobiliser and pager free of charge at your home or workplace and should your bike subsequently be stolen they’ll give you your money back and 14 days free bike hire.

Editor’s Note: Risk rates calculated by comparing the number of claims received during 2005 against the number of motorcycles insured in each postcode area. London West Central, London East Central, London West Central, Guernsey, Hebrides, Jersey, Llandrindrod Wells (mid-Wales) and the Shetland Isles were not included in the survey due to biking populations being too small for statistical significance. A full league table of all postcode areas surveyed is available on request by calling Andy Loynes on 0161 280 1433. Carole Nash is the UK’s market leading intermediary in the motorcycle sector with around one in four of all bikers insured through the company.