An automobile is targeted by thieves every 13 minutes in Quebec

Here are four tips to help you avoid finding yourself on foot

MONTREAL, July 22, 2015 /CNW/ - As Quebeckers head out on the road by the hundreds of thousands to enjoy their summer vacation, Intact Insurance and TAG Tracking would like to remind you that car thieves don't go away for the summer. In fact, they'll be keeping an eye on you, as well as your vehicle and property.

The latest auto theft figures for Quebec, published today by Statistics Canada speak for themselves:

	Number	Frequency (minutes)	Frequency (days)
Vehicles stolen	15,216	1 theft every 34 minutes	42 vehicles stolen per day
Thefts of property from vehicles	23,766	1 theft every 22 minutes	65 property thefts from vehicles per day
Total	38,982	1 theft every 13 minutes	107 thefts per day

Four helpful tips
A few seconds is all a thief needs to steal your car or grab the valuables you've left inside it.

Since time is of the essence when it comes to auto theft, you'll have a better chance of deterring criminals if you follow these simple tips:

• Close your windows and lock your doors: it's the most basic protection, and also essential for activating your car's ignition interlock device.
  
  
• Never leave your car running when you are not in it: there's no point in exposing yourself to this risk, even for a few moments; it's an invitation to "opportunistic" thieves.
  
  
• Hide your valuables! Remember, your car is a means of transportation, not a safe: thieves love it when they look through car windows and see electronic devices and other valuable items that are easy to carry off and sell on the black market.
  
  
• "Tag" your vehicle: use a winning combination of deterrence, electronic marking, and vehicle tracking.

TAG Tracking: a powerful tool
TAG Tracking, an Intact Insurance recommended supplier, offers cutting-edge solutions that stand out from the competition and cause nothing but trouble for prospective car thieves.

TAG Tracking has a record that's close to perfection*. In the past two years:

• Only 22 of our insureds' vehicles equipped with a TAG system have been reported stolen; That's a theft rate of less than 0.01%.
  
  
• Every single one of these 22 vehicles was recovered: a recovery rate of 100%.
  
  
• Overall, the installation of the TAG system has helped reduce the theft incidence by 99.99%.

Offer for Intact Insurance customers
Are you insured with us, or shopping around for insurance? Is your car still not "tagged"? Now is the time to act! Intact Insurance offers the following benefits to insureds who purchase a TAG Tracking system:

• A $100 discount on the cost of installation.
  
  
• A 7-year TAG product and recovery warranty, exclusively for Intact Insurance customers.
  
  
• A discount of up to 30% on the physical damage insurance premium (Section B of your automobile policy).

About Intact Insurance
Intact Insurance is Canada's largest home, auto and business insurance company, the choice of more than four million consumers. Intact Insurance products are distributed through insurance brokers working with more than 6,000 brokerages from coast to coast.

Intact Insurance is the official insurer of:

• the "Réseau FADOQ" seniors' network (for home and auto insurance)
• the Association des Véhicules Électriques du Québec (AVÉQ) and
• the Quebec Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (FCMQ)

Intact Insurance is a member company of Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC).
intact.ca / intactcf.com

* Data provided by TAG Tracking

Theft of motor vehicles
Province of Quebec and major urban areas, 2014

Other regional data available on demand

	Number	Rate per 100,000 population	Rate per 100,000 population Change vs. 2013	Rate per 100,000 population 5-year change (2009)	Rate per 100,000 population 10-year change (2004)
Saguenay	174	103.75	-28.69%	-57.28%	-69.39%
Quebec City	699	88.11	-14.01%	-52.93%	-67.13%
Sherbrooke	183	93.07	+1.41%	-52.44%	-82.40%
Trois- Rivières	190	122.60	-5.95%	-71.59%	-66.50%
Montreal	9,030	223.95	-16.90%	-43.96%	-65.46%
Gatineau	282	86.66	-7.67%	-56.53%	-72.27%
Total Province of Quebec	15,216	185.23	-14.73%	-46.70%	-64.31%

Source: Statistics Canada (CANSIM).  Table  252-0051 - Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, annual. Consulted online July 22, 2015.

Theft of property from motor vehicles
Province of Quebec and major urban areas, 2014

Other regional data available on demand

	Number	Rate per 100,000 population	Rate per 100,000 population Change vs. 2013	Rate per 100,000 population 5-year change (2009)	Rate per 100,000 population 10-year change (2004)
Saguenay	287	171.13	-4.97%	-55.96%	-53.76%
Quebec City	1,332	167.90	-28.29%	-52.96%	-62.12%
Sherbrooke	274	139.35	-32.40%	-53.30%	-69.50%
Trois- Rivières	334	215.52	-18.35%	-44.31%	-36.82%
Montreal	17,497	433.94	-15.16%	-45.33%	-41.29%
Gatineau	615	188.99	-28.73%	-51.64%	-69.03%
Total Province de Québec	23,766	289.31	-16.75%	-46.09%	-45.38%

Source: Statistics Canada (CANSIM).  Table  252-0051 - Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, annual. Consulted online July 22, 2015.

SOURCE Intact Financial Corporation

Alexandre Royer, 438 827 2539, [email protected]