Range Rovers Virtually Impossible to Insure in Crime-Ridden London

Range Rovers are becoming virtually impossible to insure in London as police forces fail to crack down on car thefts.

Now Britain’s most stolen vehicle, Range Rover drivers are struggling to find cover for their cars in the capital, with those that do facing annual premiums running into the thousands.

Just two insurers offer to provide cover for the Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic in London today on one comparison website, with quotes for the cheapest annual premium – based on a 35-year-old woman living in London with six years’ driving experience and no claims – amounting to £22,515 on average on insurance site Quotegoat.

This is in contrast to Sussex where 20 insurance providers offer quotes for the same model, with the best price offered standing at £1,978 a year.

When searching for car insurance deals for a male in his mid twenties in London on a major comparison site, no insurer was able to provide a quote, mystery shopping from this newspaper found.

Direct Line is also reviewing “its insurance arrangements” for Range Rovers following “widespread publicity regarding thefts of this make of car”, saying it “will monitor the situation to see how it evolves”, The Telegraph can disclose.

Separate figures for the average premium in Greater London from comparison site GoCompare suggested the annual cost of insuring a Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic is now £3,555, almost double the cost in 2022.

The particular model of Land Rover is the most stolen car in Britain, according to figures from the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency, while London has repeatedly ranked as having some of the worst rates of car theft in the country in studies carried out by insurers.

In the year to March, one in every hundred Land Rovers was stolen, with types of Range Rover accounting for six of the top 10 most stolen car models overall. The Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic was the most sought out by criminals, with two in every hundred of the model stolen, according to analysis of official data by comparison site Confused.com.

It comes as police forces across England and Wales are investigating fewer than one in four car thefts, according to figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats.

At the same time just 6.7pc of the 396,000 reported car crimes, including car thefts, thefts from a vehicle, and interference with a vehicle, resulted in anyone being charged, according to figures obtained by the RAC.

Conservative MP Greg Smith, who sits on the Commons transport committee, said: “There is undoubtedly a considerable degree of serious organised crime that targets Range Rovers for theft.

“It is incumbent on police forces to do everything possible to crack down on these crimes and protect Range Rover owners. It is unacceptable to just let the crime persist and insurance premiums to skyrocket.”

Experts said Range Rovers were a particular target of criminal gangs due to their desirability, high resale value and keyless technology.

Criminals are able to buy “car hacking” technology online which enables them to access and drive off with high-end cars without having to steal the keys.

One method of bypassing keyless “fobs” uses devices that hack into the controller area network of cars, allowing them to be unlocked.

Louise Thomas, motoring expert at Confused.com, said: “Luxury vehicles generally are a target for thieves, as they can be resold for significant profit.”

Ceri McMillan,of GoCompare, said the average premium for insuring a Range Rover Velar had increased 82pc since last year.

“This is a hefty increase year on year, and while it’s been widely reported that car insurance premiums have increased in general, this represents a significant uplift for this type of model.

“This may be due to this particular type of car being at a higher risk of theft due to it being a high-end model in the car market.”

Jaguar Land Rover was approached for comment.

The Home Office has previously said it expects police forces to investigate car crime thoroughly.