The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that auto insurers have started applying a surcharge of up to $500 to customers who own cars that are commonly stolen. The Globe's Salmaan Faroogui and Clare O'Hara write that Ratesdotca's Daniel Ivans says a handful of insurance companies first started applying specific surcharges for owning these vehicles in the past couple of months. Mr. Ivans has been told he would face a charge for his 2019 Toyota Tacoma unless he purchased enhanced security features. Drivers can have the fee waived or partly reimbursed if they install a digital tracking system or anti-theft devices in their car. Canadian auto insurers have been sounding the alarm about "national crisis" rates of vehicle theft in recent years. Equite Association reported that more cars were stolen in the first half of 2022 than all of 2020, and Canadian auto insurers lost more than $1-billion last year from stolen vehicles as organized crime rings pushed up car theft rates. Insurers say they would like to see auto manufacturers and the Canadian government mandating more security features to make cars harder to steal, but in the meantime have passed on the cost to owners of commonly stolen vehicles.