‘Costing every Manitoban’: Stolen vehicles costing MPI tens of millions every year

Tara Seel from Manitoba Public Insurance shares how vehicle theft is costing Manitobans millions—and what you can do to prevent it.

Manitoba Public Insurance says stolen vehicles are costing the Crown corporation tens of millions of dollars every year.

MPI insures more than 950,000 vehicles in the province, with an average of about 4,000 reported stolen each year. These stolen vehicles mean the Crown corporation is paying $40 million a year in damage and replacement costs.

Tara Seel, MPI’s media and public relations lead, said Manitoba has one of the highest rates of stolen vehicles in the country.

“It’s costing every Manitoban,” she said in an interview with CTV Morning Live on Friday.

To help prevent these thefts, Seel said to never leave your keys in the car unattended or run into the store with the car running.

“That’s just an easy target for thieves,” she said. “Not saying that anyone deserves to be the victim of a crime, of course, but there are things we can do to protect ourselves.”

Seel also recommended parking in a well-lit area or a secured garage, ensuring windows and doors are locked, and not leaving any valuables in your vehicle.

“That’s sort of an enticement, right?” she said.

“If a would-be thief sees something that they kind of want in the backseat, then that is an enticement.”

Seel said MPI is also starting to see thieves being able to track and copy the signal from car key fobs, which allows them to create their own way into a vehicle.

She said this is why it’s important to keep the fob away from your door while at home.

“That signal still actually goes outside,” she explained.

“If you’re going to keep them by the door, [put them] in a box or something. And then if you could, further into the home.”

Seel added it’s beneficial to check to see if your vehicle model and make is one that is commonly stolen. If it is, she recommends investing in anti-theft products, including car alarms or GPS tracking.

“Prevention is always best.”

• With files from CTV’s Ainsley McPhail.