Crime rates are skyrocketing to record levels. And Catalytic Converter Theft is just one facet of a widespread phenomenon not receiving coverage. State Farm Insurance releases press information that needs to be circulated as one example of how out of control the claims for catalytic converter thefts have become.
Acording to the Press Release the company's claims increased 1,171% in a two-year period. In 2019, the company paid $4.6 million for 2,535 catalytic converter theft claims across America. In 2021, it paid a whopping $62.6 million for 32,265 claims. In the first half of 2022 State Farm has received over 23,000 catalytic converter theft claims.
The data from the most recent 12-month period indicates that the ranking of the top 5 states in catalytic converter theft is currently led by California - with more than 2 out of 10 (24.5%) claims being filed in the Golden State- followed by Texas -with roughly 1 out of 10 (13.58%) of these claims- Illinois (3rd), Washington (4th) and Minnesota (5th).
Multiply those statistics by the number of companies specializing in auto insurance and the arithmetic product is probably unimaginable and should be receiving a lot more attention.