RV Theft Falls 20% in 2025, Yet Most Stolen Units Never Return, NICB Says

What NICB's 2025 Recreational Vehicle Theft Report Shows

The National Insurance Crime Bureau's new analysis of 2025 recreational vehicle thefts points in two directions at once: thefts are down sharply, while recovery is still poor. NICB says nearly 59,000 recreational vehicles — motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and watercraft — were reported stolen to law enforcement in 2025, a decline it describes as about 20% from the prior year. The same data shows roughly two-thirds of those vehicles were never recovered.

Motorcycles dominate the loss picture. Owners reported 44,564 motorcycles stolen in 2025 — more than three-quarters of the total — and only 41% were eventually recovered. ATVs were both the second-largest category and the hardest to get back: of the 11,050 ATVs reported stolen, just 23% were recovered, the lowest recovery rate in NICB's analysis. Where recovery does happen, it tends to be fast: more than half of all recreational vehicle recoveries occur within two weeks of the theft being reported, after which the odds narrow steadily, much like the pattern for passenger vehicles.

NICB President and CEO David J. Glawe tied the problem to the assets themselves. "Recreational vehicles are often valuable, easily portable, and stored in locations that make them attractive targets for thieves," he said. He called the continued decline in thefts encouraging but stressed that the high share of unrecovered vehicles "demonstrates why owners must take proactive steps to protect their property and report a theft as soon as possible."

One caveat: the report's year-over-year arithmetic, as published, is not fully consistent. NICB cites 58,957 as a comparison-year total while also putting 2025 at "nearly 59,000," a combination that cannot by itself produce a 20% decline, so the exact baseline for the decrease is unclear. NICB's guidance to owners stands regardless: store vehicles in locked, enclosed locations; keep records of the vehicle identification number, other identifying information and current photos; and report any theft to law enforcement and the insurance carrier without delay.

Recovery Rates, Not Just Theft Counts, Drive the Insurance Impact

Recovery Rates Convert Theft Into a Severity Problem for Carriers

From an underwriter's perspective, the headline theft count matters less than what happens after a theft. With nearly two-thirds of stolen recreational vehicles never recovered, a theft claim on a recreational vehicle policy is very often a total loss. That makes recovery statistics a direct input into claims severity, not just frequency. The data also gives claims teams a practical timeline: because more than half of recoveries occur within two weeks, the speed of intake and communication with law enforcement in the first days after a report can meaningfully affect whether an insurer recovers the asset or pays the claim in full.

Why ATVs Are the Worst Recovery Category

The gap between motorcycles and ATVs is instructive. Motorcycles, at 41% recovery, behave more like passenger vehicles — they are registered and identifiable in most states, which gives law enforcement a practical way to track them. ATVs are recovered only 23% of the time. The most plausible reading is that ATVs are off-road machines, often unregistered, easily trailered across state lines and frequently resold without paperwork. For insurers, that means ATV comprehensive coverage carries a materially higher total-loss exposure than the category's share of thefts alone would suggest, and secure-storage and anti-theft requirements deserve real weight in pricing.

What the Decline Does — and Does Not — Signal

A 20% year-over-year reduction is genuinely good news for loss costs, and NICB points to it as evidence that enforcement and prevention efforts are gaining traction. But the persistence of a high unrecovered share — roughly two-thirds — keeps the underlying risk profile largely intact. Falling theft counts and poor recovery can coexist when theft is increasingly organized, since groups that steal to order can export or dismantle vehicles quickly, outside the two-week window in which most recoveries occur. Insurers should treat the trend as encouraging but not as a reason to loosen theft-related underwriting controls.

Practical Response to the New RV Theft Data: Insurers and Owners

For insurers:

• Treat recovery rates as a severity metric: with ATVs recovered only 23% of the time and motorcycles 41%, theft claims on powersport policies frequently close as total losses — review how comprehensive coverage is priced for each class.
• Audit theft-claims triage so reports reach law enforcement immediately; more than half of recoveries occur within the first two weeks, so intake speed directly affects whether the asset is returned or paid out in full.
• Consider requiring secure, enclosed storage or anti-theft devices as conditions of coverage, particularly for ATVs, the category with the lowest recovery rate in NICB's data.

For owners:

• Locked, enclosed storage is the lowest-cost prevention step NICB identifies — use it wherever possible, especially for ATVs and watercraft stored on trailers or in open yards.
• Keep the VIN, current photos and proof of ownership accessible, and if a vehicle is stolen, file the police report and notify your insurer immediately — recovery odds concentrate in the first two weeks, so speed is the one factor owners control.