State Farm mentioned Thursday that metallic thieves in quest of platinum, rhodium and palladium are stealing catalytic converters in ever-greater numbers, sending auto-insurance claims hovering throughout the U.S.
Final 12 months, State Farm paid $62.6 million for 32,265 catalytic converter theft claims nationally — a 1,173% enhance from 2019.
“It’s the metals typically which might be useful,” mentioned Amy Harris, a State Farm spokeswoman, in a cellphone interview. “The proprietor comes out to their automotive, the automotive received’t begin, they usually finally work out that the catalytic converter has been eliminated.”
A catalytic converter is an emissions-control machine that’s within the exhaust system below many gas-powered automobiles. State Farm doesn’t monitor which fashions are focused most frequently, however thieves are likely to hit smaller, lighter automobiles which might be left unattended in parking heaps. California, the nation’s largest auto market, accounted for greater than 1 / 4 of catalytic converter claims in 2021.
The issue could worsen because the battle in Ukraine has sparked a surge in commodities costs. Russia produces virtually 40% of mined palladium on this planet, second behind South Africa, in line with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Photograph: A deputy from the Los Angeles Sheriffs Division engraves the catalytic converter of a car with a traceable quantity in Metropolis of Business, California. Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Pictures
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