If you’re a victim of car crime, the odds are usually against you. Only 5% of cases end in an arrest, and less than 28% of vehicles are recovered. Unless, of course, you’re with By Miles.
We love saving people money. And our pay-by-mile car insurance has been doing just that for lower mileage drivers all over the country. But we think good value insurance should be more than a safety net you can rely on when disaster strikes. Instead, it should actively help you avoid mishaps. It’s a concept we call interactive insurance.
With that in mind, we offer members a range of features (at no extra cost) that’ll improve their driving lives and help avoid claims. Our Car Medic tool lets members run diagnostic tests via the app – something a garage might charge the best part of £100 for – and spot problems early. Meanwhile, the Find My Car feature can pinpoint a missing vehicle.
That means we don’t just cover vehicles. We recover them too…
Enter Jordan.
Jordan’s one of our Customer Experience Team Leads. (And as a winner of our Virtue Role Model awards, it’s safe to say he’s a damn good one). He’s also – statistically speaking – one of the best people you can turn to if you find your car isn’t where it should be.
Using the Find My Car feature, he’s helped member after member track down and recover their stolen vehicles. Given how hard it is for the police to dedicate resources to car crime, it’s fair to say that Jordan’s help has been a real boost for the folks in blue…
Here, he’ll talk us through some of his experiences of turning members’ days right around.
Acting fast.
“Our systems are set up so that as soon as we’re notified of a total loss situation (such as a car being stolen or written off) an alert comes through – allowing us to jump right on it as a priority.
“With theft, you want to be able to act as quickly as possible. We’re very aware that a member’s car may well be the most expensive purchase they’ve ever made – so we want to maximise our chances of getting it back for them.
“Once the member has called our claims line to log a stolen car claim, our team receives a notification of the stolen car, we’ll check to see when the last journey was and where it’s parked. “
Coordinating a response.
“From there, we’ll contact the member and double check they’ve been in contact with the police and got a crime reference number – which is something they need to do.
“Unfortunately, the police won’t usually have the resources to investigate just on the basis of the member reporting their car stolen. But we can help there. When we talk to the police on our member’s behalf – and are able to give a precise location for where the car actually is – that will normally carry a bit more weight in terms of getting officers out to the vehicle.”
Recovering the car.
“Ideally, we’re able to have the member team up with the police and go out and get the car – provided it’s been stationery for a good amount of time (suggesting the thieves aren’t nearby). Sometimes, if that’s not possible, members are tempted to take matters into their own hands…
“I do try to dissuade them, but people can be hard to stop! We had an older lady insisting she was going to go down and get her car back herself. I tried to remind her that the thieves had been brazen enough to steal her car in broad daylight, so they probably wouldn’t be the best people to be dealing with face to face. She kept telling me she’d be alright because she had her stick.
“One time, I even had a member admit to me once I’d located their car that they’d actually just parked it there and forgotten. I could hear their dad in the background – I don’t think they were too impressed with the driver’s memory!”
Making members happy.
“Personally, I’ve recovered about 20 cars. In one month, I actually had 6. But obviously, I’m not the only one doing that – I’m just one of the members of the team responding to these cases. It’s a great part of the job. The biggest reward is hearing them go from being distraught to feeling over the moon.”
And as these testimonials show, ‘over the moon’ isn’t an exaggeration.
“Unfortunately I had my car stolen at the weekend. Jordan from By miles went above and beyond to help locate my car even helping to contact the police on my behalf.”
Emma, Trustpilot.
“They responded straight away, professionally and sensitively when I reported my car stolen. They immediately sent me a screenshot of the whereabouts of the car, which I informed the police of and within a couple of hours found the car. Thank you.”
Suzanne, Trustpilot.
It’s time to take precautions.
With the cost of living squeeze, car crime has been high. As conviction rates for car crime remain low, you need to make an effort to deter criminals yourself.
You could:
- Get a steering lock.
- Get a catalytic converter cage.
- Protect your keyless entry fob.
- Add extra security features.
And of course, if the worst happens, being with By Miles could help too.
