Two of America’s largest auto insurers, district farm And progressive corp PGRrefuse to cover selected models of a couple South Korean automaker in certain US cities. The reason is that they are too easy to steal.

Accordingly Data by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), certain vehicles manufactured by Hyundai Motor Company GDR HYMTF And Kia Corp from 2015-2019 are about twice as likely to be stolen compared to other vehicles from the same production years.

The reason for this is that many of them lack basic anti-theft car technology found in most other vehicles made during those years. according to HLDI report.

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The institute says some Hyundai and Kia models built between 2015 and 2019 lack electronic immobilizers that prevent thieves from simply breaking in and bypassing the ignition. The immobilizer technology Prevents a car engine from starting unless the authorized key is used.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Kia and Hyundai vehicles accounted for nearly 20% of vehicle thefts in 2022, up from 13% in Los Angeles in 2021. Similarly, the Chicago Police Department has reported a 767% year-over-year increase in Hyundai and Kia vehicle thefts in 2022 due to a TikTok prompt to steal the vehicles.

CNN has reported that both State Farm and Progressive are now avoiding coverage of these cars in certain cities, including Denver and St. Louis.

“State Farm has temporarily stopped writing new business for certain model years and trim levels of Hyundai and Kia vehicles in some states due to a dramatic increase in theft damage for those vehicles. This is a serious issue affecting our customers and the auto insurance industry,” CNN quoted officials from the state company as saying.

“Over the past year, theft rates for certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles have more than tripled, and in some markets these are…