Local insurance agent Partners with Auto Theft Task force by ethcing windows and giving away FREE "THE CLUBS" to prevent auto theft in Las Vegas

    Free antitheft steps available at Auto Theft Prevention Day event

/24-7PressRelease/ - LAS VEGAS, NV, April 19, 2007 - Las Vegas has the second-highest auto theft rate of any city in the United States, and a local American Family Insurance agent is sponsoring an effort to help motorists avoid auto theft.

The James C. Miller Agency of American Family Insurance is sponsoring the second annual Auto Theft Prevention Day on Sunday, April 22. Volunteers from the Metro Police Auto Theft Task Force will be on hand from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to install two antitheft features in vehicles for free. The event takes place in the Eastern Beltway Plaza at Eastern and Interstate 215, in the parking lot adjacent to the Home Depot store.

Task force members will etch vehicle identification numbers (VIN) into all of a vehicle's windows. This step permanently marks the vehicle's windows, requiring thieves to replace all of the auto glass and making the car much less attractive to steal. VIN-etched cars have a 64 percent lower theft rate than non-etched cars, and an etched car has an 85 percent better chance of being recovered, according to Vehicle Identification Inc.

Motorists who have their vehicle VIN etched will also receive a free steering wheel lock, The Club , while supplies last.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB), the Las Vegas area is among the top two areas in the nation for vehicle theft. NCIB recommends taking several steps of prevention, with the most basic being to always lock a vehicle and park only in well-lit areas.

Other measures recommended by NICB include VIN etching and active theft deterrents such as an alarm, ignition kill switch or devices like The Club .

Based in Madison, Wis., American Family Insurance offers auto, homeowners, life, health, commercial and farm/ranch insurance, plus financial services, in 18 states. American Family ranks 323rd on the Fortune 500 list and is the nation's third-largest mutual property/casualty insurance company.

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