Halloween is just days away and the holiday is scary for more than just the ghosts and the goblins knocking on your door looking for candy.
As CNBC notes, a study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that vehicle vandalism peaks on Halloween. On October 31st, vehicles are almost twice as likely to be vandalized compared to the average day.
The study examined insurance claims made between 2008-2012 and found that Halloween had an average of 1,253 vandalism claims. This easily beat of other high vandalism days such as New Year’s Day with 944 claims and the Fourth of July with 987 claims.
According to study, the average insurance claim on Halloween was for $1,660 (£1,296 / €1,457) and that’s around nine percent higher than the average daily claim. Among the claims examined by the study were acts of vandalism such as slashed tires and broken windows.
While the study was originally published five years ago, a spokesperson for the IIHS told CNBC that the trend for Halloween vandalism still continues to this day. While it’s a bit surprising that Devil’s Night isn’t when most vandalism claims are reported, there’s likely a simple explanation for this – most owners probably don’t notice the damage or report it until the next morning.
To prevent becoming a victim, there are a few simple steps that vehicles owners can take to reduce their chances of waking up to a damaged vehicle. The most obvious is parking your car in a secured garage. If that’s not an option, you should park in a well lit location and make sure the vehicle is locked and all valuables have been removed.
Vehicles aren’t the only thing being targeted on Halloween as a separate study by Travelers Insurance found that homeowner claims for vandalism, theft and other crimes are 17 percent higher than any other day of the year.