Vehicle theft: How insurers are saving millions with vehicle tracking

Imagine an insurer receives a report that a vehicle worth €45,000 has been stolen. Without further information, the insurer can only pay the claim and write off the loss. But what if there was a way to locate the vehicle in the shortest possible time and drastically reduce the size of the claim?
 

Halbes Fahrzeug Icon in der Hand eines Geschäftsmannes

Save millions with intelligent vehicle tracking technology

This is where ex:tracked comes in. Instead of incurring high losses, the insurer can locate the stolen vehicle in a very short time. At the same time, if necessary, we arrange for the vehicle to be returned or secured. In this case, the insurer saves 40,000 euros, which makes a significant difference to the company's bottom line.
 

New study on vehicle theft

The latest study by the German Insurance Association (GDV) on vehicle theft in Germany highlights the need for a solution in this area. For the second year in a row, more than 14,000 cases of car theft involving comprehensively insured vehicles were recorded in Germany in 2024. Last year, this cost insurers a total of €293.5 million. The situation is particularly critical in Berlin, where the risk of car theft is more than 13 times higher than the national average. There were 39 cases per 10,000 cars, compared to just 3 nationally. In 2024 alone, 3,855 vehicles disappeared in the capital. This equates to more than one in four thefts across Germany as a whole.

The ex:tracked cloud platform helps insurers and the authorities quickly locate stolen vehicles and makes a significant contribution to fraud prevention. Of the top ten car brands mentioned in the study, ex:tracked can already track 80 percent. This figure is rising as the software is constantly being expanded to include new car brands.

Benefits for insurers of using ex:tracked vehicle tracking

The many benefits of the platform enable insurers to effectively reduce their losses:

  • Efficient, privacy-compliant data usage: The software processes and automates telemetry data from mobile assets, providing insurers with valuable information in real time.
  • Fraud prevention made easy: Using the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and required documentation, insurers can verify whether the theft is real or a case of fraud.
  • Fast response time: The last position of the vehicle can be read in an instant, enabling insurers to take action more quickly.
  • Highly cost-effective: A stolen vehicle causes an average of €20,500 in damage (source: German Insurance Association (GDV)) - every theft prevented or solved means massive savings.