Theft is becoming increasingly expensive for insurance companies
Published: Tuesday, Oct 1st 2024, 10:20
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Anyone who has their smartphone, wallet or bike stolen usually reports the theft to their insurance company. According to insurer Axa, the amount of damage incurred has risen significantly.
Specifically, Axa paid out almost CHF 35.5 million for theft losses in Switzerland last year, according to a statement issued on Tuesday. That's around CHF 1,400 per case and 40 percent more than in 2018. The number of crimes remained virtually unchanged, with the exception of a coronavirus dent, but the value of the stolen goods was significantly higher.
More expensive bikes and smartphones
These are so-called "simple thefts", i.e. offenses that "require little effort on the part of the perpetrator", as it says. This refers, for example, to bag or bicycle thefts without burglaries or the like.
The increase in the amount of crime is due in particular to the significantly higher amount of damage caused by the individual thefts: "One reason for this is the general increase in the price of products in recent years," it says. For example, increasingly expensive bicycles and e-bikes have been stolen. And the stolen smartphones have also generally become more expensive.
According to Axa's figures, the likelihood of becoming a victim of theft is particularly high in the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Land, Geneva and Solothurn. The least affected are people in Ticino, but also in Graubünden, Valais and the canton of Glarus. However, the regional differences cannot be explained "conclusively", according to Axa.
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