UK'S Most-stolen Car of 2011 is...

LONDON, November 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

• Land Rover Defender is UK's most-stolen car
• German luxury cars make up seven of top-ten most stolen cars in UK
• Average cost of a theft claim is £3,721.51

The Land Rover Defender is the most stolen car in Britain, according to analysis of more than 2,300 theft claims by online car insurance provider Swiftcover for its 2011/12 Vehicle Theft Index (1).

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121127/579695 )

The first annual theft index from swiftcover.com revealed that, despite being comparatively rare on UK roads, luxury cars such as Land Rovers, Audis and BMWs were disproportionately more likely to be stolen. Nine of the top ten targets were luxury vehicles, despite often having sophisticated security systems. The top three cars, the Land Rover Defender, BMW 7 Series and Audi A5, were given index scores of 4%, 3.35% and 3% respectively based on the likelihood that they would be stolen (2).  The Ford Focus - the most popular car on the road - came in 46^th with an index score of 0.63% and with a score of 1.01%, the Volkswagen Golf ranked 24^th.

The average OTR price among the top ten most stolen cars is a staggering £37,815 (3) with the most valuable car on the list - the Land Rover Range Rover - starting at £69,995.

Robin Reames, chief claims officer at insurance provider swiftcover.com, said: "Given that luxury vehicles are usually alarmed, well protected and parked in affluent - and ostensibly secure - neighbourhoods, it's surprising that they're still so likely to be targeted. This index should give drivers pause for thought: no car is immune from theft, and the best security system in the world won't protect a car if, as is often the case, the keys are stolen."

"Often, luxury cars which are stolen are immediately sent abroad where they can be resold or stripped for parts. Cars which are popular internationally - such as the Land Rover range - are easier to sell on, which makes them much more desirable from a thief's point of view."

swiftcover.com analysis shows the top ten cars most likely to be targeted by thieves:

    2011/12                                      Theft Index
    ranking    Model                             rating (2)
        1      Land Rover Defender                     4.00%
        2      BMW 7 Series                            3.35%
        3      Audi A5                                 3.00%
        4      BMW X5                                  1.70%
        5      Mercedes ML                             1.57%
        6      Land Rover Range Rover                  1.55%
        7      Audi TT                                 1.51%
        8      BMW Z4                                  1.47%
        9      Audi A3                                 1.45%
        10     Renault Laguna                          1.37%

Reames continued: "Our own, separate analysis has shown a slight drop in car thefts from London - traditionally a theft hotspot - this year, although we've also found that theft numbers from the West Midlands and Yorkshire have risen sharply."

"We hope that the index compels drivers to ensure that their cars and keys are kept secure."

If your car is at high risk for theft, make a request for Car Insurance Quotes from swiftcover.com which offers a quick online quote service.

A full breakdown of the 2011/12 swiftcover.com Theft Index results is available on request

Notes to Editors

1. Based on analysis of approximately 2,300 claims for theft among the UK vehicles insured by swiftcover.com from 1 February 2011 to 1 February 2012. Figures adjusted to take into account estimated numbers of cars on the road and cars with less than ten instances of theft per year removed.
2. Based on the percentage chance that the car would be stolen in a one year period from February 2011 to February 2012. Figures are based on the number of vehicles insured by swiftcover.com and the related theft claims. The most popular car on the road in the UK, the Ford Focus, has an index score of 0.63. A full breakdown of all the cars on record is available on request.
3. Based on the lowest OTR prices for all models found on the manufacturers' websites. The Renault Laguna is no longer in production as of 2012, and was not included in the calculation

About Swiftcover:

Based in Cobham, Surrey and employing more than 1,000 people, swiftcover.com started trading in June 2005 and was born out of a desire to revolutionise the general insurance market by making insurance quick and easy to use.

swiftcover.com offers car, home, travel and pet insurance online, and is the only insurance provider in Britain not to use call centre's, which provides cost savings that can be passed directly onto the customer, keeping premiums low. swiftcover.com was named Best Value for Money Car Insurer in the UK in the 2010 Lovemoney.com awards.

This powerful operating model combined with successful marketing and competitive pricing has proven to be a tremendous success.  In 2008 swiftcover.com achieved over half a million live policies and in May 2009 sold its millionth policy. swiftcover.com is considered to be one of the fastest-growing online insurance providers in the UK and, as of February 2011, has more than 800,000 policy holders.

In 2007, AXA UK acquired swiftcover.com.  It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Insurance UK PLC which forms part of AXA Group.

About AXA:

AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. The AXA Group is a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management serving 101 million clients. It is ranked the largest insurer in the world by net written premium and the top insurance brand globally.

In the UK AXA operates through a number of business units including: AXA Wealth; AXA Commercial Lines, AXA Personal Lines, AXA PPP healthcare, AXA Ireland and an independent distribution business Bluefin. AXA employs over 13,000 staff in the UK.

For full year 2011, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 86.1 billion and IFRS underlying earnings to Euro 3.9 billion. AXA had Euro 1,079 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2011.

The AXA ordinary share is listed on compartment A of Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol CS (ISIN FR0000120628 - Bloomberg: CS FP - Reuters: AXAF.PA). AXA's American Depositary Share is also quoted on the OTC QX platform under the ticker symbol AXAHY.

The AXA Group is included in the main international SRI indexes, such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and FTSE4GOOD.

SOURCE Swiftcover