A few here have said they got their insurance to step in and sort out. Just wondering, after the fix, did they add some sort of anti theft mechanism?? Would like to know. Thanks.
No, Insurance Companies don't enhance things. It's hardly worth claiming on the insurance since you have to pay AD excess yourself and it will affect the price next time it's due.
I find that quite hard to believe! So... that's the killer for me. It's paying each of the next 5 years extra because you have a claim on your name! Let's say £500 is the cost. (I think that's at the top end.) Why would ANYONE claim off their insurance! First you get shafted by the thieves who stole your cat converter. Then you get shafted by the insurance industry.
Nope! The only security protection they considered (loosely speaking) was to install a certified non-OEM Catalytic Converter (Klarius in my case) which contains a ceramic core like all other modern CATs, and is therefore completely worthless to the Grand Theft CAT gang. Unfortunately, urban legend has it that some copycat thieves are too “stoopid” to tell the difference between the genuine OEM Prius CAT cluster and the non-OEM replacements.....and are cutting them from underneath Prius vehicles regardless You will have to provide your own protection - preferably even for a non-OEM Catalytic Converter to disuade Britain’s Dumbest Criminals from trying to cut it out from underneath your Prius iPhone 6s +
Not sure how it works over there, but in the USA you might get an insurance company to pay for an anti-theft setup if you were submitting a claim for damages related to a deterred theft. For example, if they manage to cut the pipe on one side but were forced to abort the theft before completion. You'd obviously still need a repair, but you'd have evidence that the anti-theft system reduced the overall cost of the claim. It would likely take some prodding, but you could probably get them to reimburse you for the value of the antitheft setup afterwards.
As for insurance paying...I'd doubt it. But, some ins co. offer "anti theft" overall policy discounts. Yet, that discount may only apply to theft systems for the entire vehicle, not just a device for a cat or stereo. For the OP, if concerned about another cat theft. I am unsure if the thieves are unbolting, sawing or torching off the cats. It may be worth visiting a muffler shop and having the shop place some spot welds to secure the cat assembly to the entire exhaust piping. That would necessitate torching the cat off for removal. Good luck.
Interesting to hear replies. @Kenny94945 I can add welding spots - but need a visual deterrent I think. A nasty thief will be under the car for 3 min (instead of 1 min) otherwise scratching his head thinking he's cut, so why does it not come off before giving up.
One of the reasons that they go for older Prius is that there was no shock or tilt sensor fitted to the factory alarm. If you have that done, as soon as they knock the car or get a jack under it, the alarm will be deafening. I made my own with various relays etc so that I can arm it remotely.
Geico covered my claim under comprehensive and took it to an independent body shop in their preferred network. I asked if they would install or weld a deterrent device over the catalytic converter and they said no. Insurance company did not offer anything over replacement, which I am not surprised, but given the rise in thefts, thought they would at least suggest. I am looking into an independent muffler shop to do the job now and agree it should be apparent to would be thieves to move onto an easier target before they start sawing into it.
Unfortunately, aftermarket cats are not approved for the Prius in California, so theives know each and every one has a factory original cat.
Careful asking anything about catalytic converters on this forum, you could possibly wind up getting accused of being a crminal.... lol Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Thanks for the advice. I'm just a recent victim and learned a lot from the process of getting it fixed. It just irks me these thieves cause so much damage and hassle, and we have so little recourse. I also read a lot on the forums over the years and thought I should contribute a little. But I know what you mean.
You could possibly get some steel screen or fencing roughly 1ft wide and several feet long and have a muffler shop tack weld it to the exhaust system from the front of the exhaust down toward the rear. That way it would make it more difficult for thieves.. I would guess they have a few tools they know they need for the job to make it a quick theft, but then would abandon the task if there was any unexpected extra work needed. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
I got the catalytic converter cat shield from MillerCAT for protection last year and it's been doin a damn great job so far! I've already read somewhere that some insurance companies will pay for your cat shield. Look into it to see if yours qualifies!
