Car-theft sprees may raise rates

The recent spate of juvenile car thefts in the District has raised concerns that already high car-insurance rates could go up, insurance industry officials said last week.

The average annual auto premium in the District is $1,011, the third highest in the nation behind New Jersey at $1,027 and New York at $1,014.

Higher insurance rates “will be reflected in areas most affected by auto theft,” said Carolyn Gorman, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute. “People living in areas that don’t have high auto-theft rates won’t see higher rates.”

Auto theft drains $8.5 billion from the insurance industry, but increasing police resources would translate to lower premiums, Ms. Gorman said. Auto-insurance rates in the District are high because the “city is full of lawyers — people who like to sue,” she said.

Insurance-industry officials are hopeful that a five-point plan offered by D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams last week to crack down on juvenile car thefts will forestall a rise in insurance premiums.

On Monday, Mr. Williams announced a crime emergency and offered a plan that includes tougher laws, increased law-enforcement efforts and better human services for teenagers. He also said on Wednesday that he is considering cracking down on parents whose children repeatedly steal cars by revoking their licenses.

Ms. Gorman applauded Mr. Williams’ declaration of a crime emergency, saying the insurance industry would not see it as a red flag and drive up D.C. premiums. Rather, she took the declaration as a positive sign.

“The fact that it’s getting the attention of the mayor and police is encouraging that they will get auto thefts under control,” she said.

Of the juvenile car thieves she said, “Obviously they’re doing more than damaging property — they’re killing people. That won’t be reflected in insurance — that’s just a tragedy.”

As reported Thursday in The Washington Times:

A group of D.C. teens stealing cars in Charles County, Md., are accused of killing two persons, including one of the teenage thieves, in a car wreck after leading police in a chase last week.

A 12-year-old driving a stolen van was charged with killing a man on a mo-ped in Southeast earlier this month.

A 16-year-old driving a stolen car was charged with the fatal hit-and-run of an elderly woman in Northeast last month.

A 14-year-old driving a stolen Jeep was involved in an accident last month in Northwest that killed the driver of another car.

Almost 3,000 juveniles were arrested for unauthorized vehicle use from Jan. 1, 2000, to March 12, 2004 — some of them more than six times — Metropolitan Police spokesman Kenny Bryson said.

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