{"id":7377,"date":"2016-08-03T11:23:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T11:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/301webdemo.com\/oegema\/?p=7377"},"modified":"2026-02-06T05:11:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T05:11:55","slug":"the-top-ways-to-protect-your-vehicle-from-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/blog\/the-top-ways-to-protect-your-vehicle-from-theft\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top Ways to Protect Your Vehicle from Theft"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Next to your home, your car is probably one of the biggest investments that you\u2019ll make. Unfortunately, auto theft and theft\u00a0from<\/em>\u00a0automobiles are two of the most common crimes in Canada. So whether it\u2019s your prized possession, or simply a way to get around, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (view PDF infographic) recommends some fairly basic habits you can put into practice to keep your vehicle safe.<\/p>

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The thinking behind most of these is to add layers of protection to your automobile. Many car thefts are\u00a0crimes of opportunity<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0crimes of convenience<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 thieves will zero in on a car that\u2019s not as secured as others, simply because it makes the crime easier to pull off. Here are some of the top ways to keep your automobile protected.<\/p>

  1. Make sure to always lock your doors and keep the key with you.<\/strong>\u00a0This sounds pretty basic, but people leaving keys in their car is much more common than you might think: during 2014 in the United States, for example, 45,000 vehicles\u00a0were stolen with keys inside the car<\/a>. So even if you\u2019re just running into a store, don\u2019t take the chance.<\/li>
  2. Park in well-lit areas.<\/strong> The more visible a car is, the less attractive of a target it generally is to thieves.<\/li>
  3. Never leave money or valuables (phones, GPS, parcels) in plain sight.<\/strong> This can make your car an appealing target for a quick smash-and-grab. Take your phone with you when you leave the car. Parcels can be stored in the trunk of the car. Do what you have to in order to keep these sorts of valuables out of plain sight.<\/li>
  4. Always make sure the car\u2019s windows are rolled up before you leave the car.\u00a0<\/strong>And don\u2019t forget about your sunroof, if you have one. Again, the idea is just to make sure that your car is not an easier target than others.<\/li>
  5. If you have a garage at your home, park the car there and lock the garage door<\/strong>. Doing so provides another added layer of protection that makes things more difficult for a prospective burglar.<\/li>
  6. The Insurance Bureau of Canada recommends that you keep your vehicle registration and proof of insurance on you, rather than keeping it in your car\u2019s glove box.\u00a0<\/strong>If your personal information is taken, it can put you at\u00a0risk of identity fraud.<\/a><\/li>
  7. Invest in an anti-theft system or device.\u00a0<\/strong>Most new cars come off the line with an anti-theft system. If you\u2019re driving an older model, consider looking into a visual deterrent\u00a0steering wheel lock<\/a>\u00a0unit or a\u00a0hidden \u201ckill switch\u201d\u00a0<\/a>to prevent ignition.<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Insurance Considerations<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    One thing you should be aware of is that personal possessions and items inside your\u00a0car are not insured<\/a>\u00a0under your automobile insurance, but rather by your\u00a0property insurance<\/a>\u00a0. Only the vehicle itself can be insured under your automobile insurance policy. If you have any questions about auto insurance in Ottawa or the National Capital Region, be sure to\u00a0contact your local insurance broker<\/a>\u00a0for more information! Thanks for reading, The ONA Team.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Avoid costly accidents with these 10 essential safety tips for homeowners. Oegema, Nicholson & Associates shows you how to protect your property\u2014read the guide now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7378,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-safety-tips","category-insurance-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7377"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10284,"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7377\/revisions\/10284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ona.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}