Safeguard your Defender
Advice and products to help protect your car
For decades, the Land Rover Defender has been a British institution. Thanks to its rugged reliability, this iconic vehicle has become synonymous with British culture. But with iconic status comes demand, which in turn, can sadly attract the attention of thieves.
Looking beyond the financial impact of this crime, as the UK’s leading rural insurer, we understand the effect rural crime like this can have on our customers’ day-to-day lives and jobs so we consider it our responsibility to prevent it from happening wherever we can.
While the uptick in car crime surrounding the Defender might be cause for concern, the good news is that there are affordable steps you can take to better protect your Defender – or any other vehicle for that matter – from any opportunistic thieves.
Below you'll find our top tips on protecting your vehicle, plus information on how you can access discounted security products through our trusted supplier, ScorpionTrack.
10 tips to protect your Defender
1. Enhance site security
Keep your vehicle in a locked building overnight or park in a well-lit area. Additional site security such as lockable posts, motion sensor lighting and CCTV can act as a deterrent to thieves. Thieves often break into homes to steal keys, so review and improve your home security too.
2. Use security signage
The presence of security signage, for example showing you have CCTV on-site or stickers to show that your vehicle is forensically marked, are proven to successfully discourage thieves.
3. Keep your vehicle locked
It sounds obvious, but it's easy to leave a vehicle unlocked for a couple of hours while you're nearby, but getting into the habit of always locking your car removes any opportunity for thieves.
4. Be mindful of your digital footprint
Don't share any information online or on social media that could show where you keep your Defender. Similarly, be careful about posting details of when you might be away so thieves aren't tempted to chance their luck.
5. Fortify your vehicle
Add an extra layer of security to your vehicle by using a combination of measures such as immobilisers, tracking devices, wheel clamps, pedal and steering wheel locks and forensic marking.
6. Keep records
It's worth taking photographic evidence of any unusual features, modifications, damage or repairs you've had done to your car so it's easier to identify if stolen and recovered.
7. Make your vehicle identifiable
From laser etching the vehicle identification number onto windows, to ultraviolet pens, there are many different and affordably priced ways that you can security mark parts of your car so that they can be identified if stripped from your vehicle.
8. Add immobilising technology
Defenders more than 25 years old may lack the more advanced central locking and immobiliser security aspects of younger vehicles. Consider installing a hidden fuel cut-off switch that you need to turn off to start the car. If the switch isn't activated, a specific circuit will not be completed, effectively immobilising the vehicle.
9. Use a signal-blocking pouch
If you have a newer model with keyless locking, store your keys in a Faraday pouch or box when not in use as this will block the signal, preventing thieves from gaining access to your car without the key.
10. Remove valuables from your car
Don't give thieves an added incentive to try their luck - make sure you always take items like electronics out of your vehicle, or at least make sure they're not visible.
