Allianz Engineering, Construction & Power, is reporting a significant increase in plant theft – year on year and predicts a new high will be hit for this year.
"Organised professional criminals are making a good living out of stealing plant items."
Chris Little, Director of Engineering, Construction & Power, Allianz
Up 55% since 2013, Allianz Engineering, Construction & Power’s own data shows the business dealt with 428 cases of plant theft in 2013 and the latest figures have increased year on year to 665.
Larger items such as excavators and JCBs proved to be the most expensive claims with one example costing £650,000 where a number of items of plant were stolen during the Christmas period at a quarry site. Theft of tools continues to be the most frequently stolen items accounting for a third of the number of claims with the cost usually falling between £1,000-£5,000.
One of three claims that fell within the £100,000-£250,000 bracket involved a fraudulent hirer stealing 13 items of plant over four separate deliveries.
Allianz’s director of engineering, construction & power Chris Little, said:
"Our data reveals that by the end of 2018 thefts could rise by a further 9%, which should be extremely concerning for construction firms. Whilst some plant theft remains opportunistic, there are reports of more organised professional criminals making a good living out of stealing plant items."
A number of security measures can be implemented by construction companies to help prevent plant theft:
- Install controlled entry and exit systems at construction sites
- Remove tools from vans where possible and lock them securely away securely
- Use a variety of security measures such as plant tagging or GPS so that the items can be traced and immobilised remotely.
For further information, please view Allianz’s insight feature on construction plant theft.
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Allianz's plant theft data
by year |
Number of claims:
|
|---|---|
| 2013 | 428 |
| 2014 | 507 |
| 2015 | 564 |
| 2016 | 619 |
| 2017 | 665 |
| 2018 | 732 (projected) |
The information contained in this press release relates to Allianz Insurance plc. Allianz Insurance plc is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz Group.
About Allianz Holdings plc
Allianz Holdings plc is the non-regulated holding company which owns the principal insurance operations of Allianz SE in Great Britain.
About Allianz
The Allianz Group is one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with more than 100 million* private and corporate customers in more than 70 countries. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from property, life and health insurance to assistance services to credit insurance and global business insurance. Allianz is one of the world’s largest investors, managing 790 billion euros on behalf of its insurance customers. Furthermore, our asset managers PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors manage 1.7 trillion euros of third-party assets. Thanks to our systematic integration of ecological and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, we are amongst the leaders in the insurance industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2021, over 150,000 employees achieved total revenues of 148.5 billion euros and an operating profit of 13.4 billion euros for the group.
These assessments are, as always, subject to the disclaimer provided below.
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This document includes forward-looking statements, such as prospects or expectations, that are based on management's current views and assumptions and subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance figures, or events may differ significantly from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Deviations may arise due to changes in factors including, but not limited to, the following: (i) the general economic and competitive situation in the Allianz Group's core business and core markets, (ii) the performance of financial markets (in particular market volatility, liquidity, and credit events), (iii) the frequency and severity of insured loss events, including those resulting from natural catastrophes, and the development of loss expenses, (iv) mortality and morbidity levels and trends, (v) persistency levels, (vi) particularly in the banking business, the extent of credit defaults, (vii) interest rate levels, (viii) currency exchange rates, most notably the EUR/USD exchange rate, (ix) changes in laws and regulations, including tax regulations, (x) the impact of acquisitions including and related integration issues and reorganization measures, and (xi) the general competitive conditions that, in each individual case, apply at a local, regional, national, and/or global level. Many of these changes can be exacerbated by terrorist activities.
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Press contacts
Sara Robinson
External communications manager
External communications manager
Email: sara.robinson@allianz.co.uk
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