Say yes to cheaper van, home and car insurance

A new hi-tech system is set to be produced which, it is claimed, will help reduce car crime and the number of car insurance claims made.

Mitsumi UK, an electronics company in Tyneside, has been awarded the contract to manufacture the product which will use both satellite and Bluetooth technology.

Called Auto-txt, it will work by authenticating the driver starting the ignition, via their Bluetooth device.

If the driver is not recognised, a message will be sent to a command centre, telling it to track the vehicle and contact the owner.

Once it is established that the car has been stolen, the police will be contacted and the vehicle will continue to be tracked.

The tracking device can follow the car 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across the whole of Europe.

Once given the nod by police, the command centre can remotely disable the vehicle.

It is hoped that Auto-txt will help to reduce the number of cars stolen in the UK, with the country having one of the worst vehicle theft problems in Europe.

"This system is expected to have a significant impact on reducing the number of cars being stolen but more importantly an increase in the number of criminals being caught," sales manager at Mitsumi Phil Nelson, told website Electronics Talk.

"The market is already growing for this type of product and sales are expected to be huge," he adds.

Auto-txt is accredited by the Thatcham Category 5 standard, which is the UK insurance standard that deals with all stolen vehicle recovery systems.

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