Catalytic converter thefts have plagued the U.S., all feeding an underground black market price hundreds of thousands. And whereas some fashions are sadly focused far more than others — no one is immune. Even one among our personal right here at Jalopnik had the cat lifted from their automobile. The newest information from Allstate exhibits rising development in cat thefts it’s not simply unhealthy. It’s insane.
According to information from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, catalytic converter thefts elevated 1,215 p.c between 2019 and 2022. In that very same time interval, Allstate reported that amongst its clients, converter alternative claims went up 1,155 p.c. The percentages are unbelievably unhealthy if you break it down by state and areas.
Out of 12 states that had the very best improve in thefts, the Pacific Northwest Region landed these prime two spots. Oregon, at primary was up 7,200 p.c whereas Washington State got here in #2 with a 7,150 p.c improve. Those thefts continued to rise regardless of makes an attempt to curb them, like Oregon’s 2022 legislation that stops scrap metallic companies from shopping for or receiving converters.
The rise in thefts may be attributed to greed after all. The excessive focus of valuable metals that the converters are made with, particularly Rhodium, Palladium and Platinum go for large cash. And with the values of those valuable metals proceed rising. For occasion, metallic worth web site Kitco.com fsays the worth of Rhodium is presently sitting at $7,300 an oz.. At that value, after all made cat thieves are much more determined to get their fingers on converters.
Like the great neighbor that they’re (heh), Allstate has supplied tricks to homeowners in serving to to stop your converter from being stolen, like parking in well-lit areas or in a storage, using an alarm system or seeing if you will get assist from native authorities or restore retailers. But in the end it’s going to return right down to automakers to cease these thefts from occurring. Or everybody might simply wait till the EV transition is in full swing. Thieves can’t steal a catalytic converter that doesn’t exist.
Source: jalopnik.com