How can you help prevent car thefts?
Tips to help you protect your vehicle against theft
Key points
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There were 324, 094 vehicle offences in England and Wales between October 2024 and September 2025. Footnote [1]
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You can try to make your vehicle less vulnerable to theft by following some tips in this article.
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Thieves can target vehicles in lots of different ways, so it’s important to have well-rounded protection – both electronic and physical security.
Between October 2024 and September 2025, there were around 324,094 vehicle offences in England and Wales. Footnote [1] That’s an average of around one every 50 seconds. There are lots of different methods thieves use – often targeting vehicles through physical and electronic techniques. So, what measures can you take to help prevent this happening to your car? Unfortunately, there’s no one-stop-solution. Instead, it involves a mixture of awareness, good habits and making use of new technologies if you can. In this article, we’ll talk you through some of the preventative measures you can take.
With Aviva Signature car insurance, cover for theft included as standard. Plus, you’ll get the guidance and support you need from our friendly contact team.
Locking and securing your vehicle
It goes without saying you should lock your vehicle when you are away from it. Locking all doors, boot and sunroof is essential, even if you’re only stopping for a short period of time. It might help to dead-lock your vehicle and look for visual confirmation of the lights flashing or wing mirrors folding in, if it has that feature. This can prevent thieves from opening the doors from the inside of the car after smashing a window.
Protecting and storing your car keys
Storing your keys safely is vital, especially for those with keyless entry. Thieves can use relay-attack devices, which can use your key fob’s signal from over 100 metres away – resulting in them unlocking and starting a car while your keys are inside your home. While storing them away from windows and doors can help, you can also use a Faraday box or pouch.
High quality Faraday pouches can block Bluetooth, wifi and other signals when properly sealed. Wear and tear over time can stop them from working as effectively, so it’s worth regularly testing them to make sure it’s still working and replace it if you need to. You can do this by placing your keys inside the pouch and then trying to unlock the car. For an extra layer of protection, if you’re buying a second-hand or repurposed vehicle, you can pay to have the keys reprogrammed.
Physical security enhancements
There are a number of products you can buy that can provide physical security for your vehicle. These are things like steering wheel locks, pedal boxes and gear stick locks. There are also different types of immobilisers you can install, in addition to a factory-fitted immobiliser. These stop your engine from being started unless the exact key is used. Usually, these can be personalised too, so you’re in control of how to set and unset the controls. Footnote [2] It's very rare for a car designed to be sold in the UK not to have a factory immobiliser. Modern options now include Ghost immobilisers, which require a hidden PIN sequence entered using your car’s existing buttons before the engine will start. They have no visible parts, no radio signals and can block relay attacks, key cloning and CAN‑bus manipulation, making them far harder for thieves to bypass than standard systems.
Thatcham-approved alarm systems are also commonly recommended to protect your vehicle from theft. The most effective type of these alarms is one that activates if your vehicle is lifted or tilted. Footnote [3] Any Thatcham-approved alarm indicates that the security device you’re using is made to a high standard and reliable. This helps insurers like Aviva to assess the risk of insuring a vehicle and can sometimes mean lower premiums for the owner. You can read more about Thatcham devices and alarms in this article. Other types of physical security are driveway CCTV and motion-activated lighting. These can help to put off vehicle thieves and add another layer of security.
Smart parking strategies
Park in well-lit and busy streets whenever possible. It’s also recommended to choose staffed car parks, or any with a Park Mark safer parking award. Footnote [2] You can also check whether a car park has CCTV, for example at shopping centres or workplaces. When parking your car at home, consider things like CCTV and lighting sensors to act as a deterrent for thieves.
When it comes to overnight parking, where you leave your car can affect your insurance premiums. This is because if you’re parked in an area that isn’t considered safe, this can make you more vulnerable to car theft. You can read more about overnight parking here.
Defending against electronic threats
Vehicles fitted with an OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) port can be bypassed to allow unauthorised access to the vehicle’s electronic systems. Consider an OBD port protector to prevent thieves accessing your vehicle’s system. Faraday pouches, which we’ve talked about earlier in this article, are also a way to prevent your vehicle being accessed electronically.
Some car manufacturers now include stronger built-in OBD protection – such as changing the location of the port or adding a layer of authentication to stop thieves from being able to programme replacement keys through the OBD port.
Keep valuables out of sight
Leaving valuables, phone holders and cables in your car can attract thieves – so it’s better to remove them whenever you leave your vehicle. You should store your logbook and documents in a safe place inside your home. It’s not advised to keep these in the vehicle, in case it’s stolen.
What to do if your vehicle is targeted
In the unfortunate event of your vehicle being stolen or stolen from, it’s important to follow these three steps:
Report the theft to the police and get a crime reference number. This is needed for an insurance claim and for the police to follow-up if necessary.
Let your insurer know what’s happened as soon as possible.
Take photos and preserve any evidence. It’s recommended that you do not touch the vehicle until the police have seen it, as fingerprints or marks can be valuable evidence. If your car is stolen but you had a tracker, you should contact the company too.
If something’s stolen from your car, you might want to change your keys or update your security system afterwards. Replacement keys aren’t always covered by your car insurance policy, so you should check your policy documents to be sure.
With our Aviva Signature car insurance, it’s quick and easy to make a claim online. You just need to tell us what happened, anyone else involved and the damage to your vehicle. Doing this as soon as possible after the theft can help speed up the claims process.
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