Press release -
Allianz Engineering, Construction & Power predicts 2018 will hit a new high for plant theft claims
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.
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 download Allianz’s Insight paper on construction plant theft.
Notes to editors:
Allianz’s plant theft data:
| Year | Number of claims |
| 2013 | 428 claims |
| 2014 | 507 claims |
| 2015 | 564 claims |
| 2016 | 619 claims |
| 2017 | 665 claims |
| 2018 | 732 (projected claims) |
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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.
The Allianz Group is one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with more than 88 million retail and corporate customers. Allianz Group 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 Group is one of the world’s largest investors, managing over 650 billion euros on behalf of its insurance customers while our asset managers Allianz Global Investors and PIMCO manage an additional 1.4 trillion euros of third-party assets. Thanks to our systematic integration of ecological and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, we hold the leading position for insurers in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2017, over 140,000 employees in more than 70 countries achieved total revenue of 126 billion euros and an operating profit of 11 billion euros for the group.
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