Victoria’s next government must establish stronger information sharing arrangements between police, government and insurers to stem the explosion of property and vehicle theft, says the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA). 

The state leads the nation in both home burglary claims and vehicle theft and needs targeted prevention measures and investment in specialist law enforcement capabilities to reduce the crimes, says the ICA in a report listing policy recommendations ahead of the November state election. 

“There are now more cars stolen or broken into in Melbourne in a year than in every other capital city combined,” said ICA CEO Andrew Hall. 

More than 12,300 vehicle theft claims were lodged in Victoria in 2025-26, about double that of Queensland, the second highest state for stolen cars, according to data from Insurance Statistics Australia. 

Vehicle crime in metropolitan Victoria has exploded in the last two years while remaining relatively stable or falling elsewhere. 

There were 3900 home theft or burglary claims lodged, down from more than 5000 in 2024-25, but still much higher than other states. 

The report calls on the next government to implement a dedicated strategy to reduce car theft and property crime, to improve disaster recovery, abolish stamp duty on home and business insurance, and improve insurance affordability by reviewing and modernising civil liability laws. 

The government should recommit to a memorandum of understanding between the ICA, Victorian Treasury, and Emergency Management Victoria on data sharing, planning, and improved collaboration on bushfire relief and response decisions. 

The ICA says more than 20,000 homes and 7000 commercial properties face severe or extreme flood risk and lists strategies such as a resilient homes program and flood infrastructure funding that would reduce risk. 

Public liability insurance is becoming unaffordable in Victoria and civil liability laws need modernising, says the report, which can be read in full here.