Continuing a recent trend, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reported that insured metal theft claims in 2014 were down 8 percent from 2012 levels.
In 2012, a total of 13,731 metal theft claims were processed. The number dropped to 13,632 in 2013 and decreased again in 2014 to 12,630 – a decline of 8 percent from 2012. During this 3 year period, 39,993 insurance claims for the theft of copper, bronze, brass or aluminum were handled – 38,985 of them (98 percent) involving copper. When the number of metal theft claims per month and monthly average copper prices are compared, the number of claims filed is found to have a statistically significant correlation with the price of copper.
As in NICB’s previous report on metal theft, Ohio ranked first of all the states generating 4,438 metal theft claims. It was followed by Pennsylvania (2,770), Texas (2,379), New Jersey (2,192) and California (2,127).
The top five Core Based Statistical Areas generating the most metal theft claims were New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (2,066); Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (1,581); Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (1,487); Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA (1,086) and Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI (945).
While this report deals exclusively with submitted insurance claims, the ultimate impact of this activity falls, to some degree, on all consumers. Losses to businesses and government entities are shared with customers and taxpayers through higher costs for goods and services and/or reductions in services. Moreover, depending on the circumstances of the theft, these incidents may not generate an insurance claim, or even a police report. Consequently, comprehensive empirical data is elusive.
You can review and download the full report here. Download the complete data set here.
Published in the October 2015 Edition of American Recycler News
