Insurers & brokers
Receive claims backed by pre-recorded serials, receipts, photos and security detail instead of a list written from memory.
Partnerships
TVAR is an independent UK product built by Buxleys LTD. We work with organisations who want tradespeople and couriers to have proper records of what they own and carry — before a theft, not after it.
Receive claims backed by pre-recorded serials, receipts, photos and security detail instead of a list written from memory.
Give self-employed drivers a consistent way to record vehicles, loads and incidents across your network.
Help customers register serial numbers and receipts at the point of purchase, when the detail is still to hand.
Offer members a practical evidence habit alongside your existing security and business guidance.
TVAR has no affiliation with, or endorsement from, any police force, insurer or trade body unless stated on this page. We will never claim a partnership we don't have.
The evidence problem
Direct Line Business analysis of police Freedom of Information data recorded 25,525 tool thefts reported to UK forces during 2024 — an average of one report every 21 minutes, or roughly 70 a day. Just under half (12,414 cases, 49%) were thefts from vehicles. The estimated value of the tools taken was £39.95m, calculated from an average stolen-tool value of £1,565.02.
£39.95m
Estimated value of tools stolen in 2024
Direct Line Business calculated this from the reported cases using an average stolen-tool value of £1,565.02.
25,525
Tool-theft cases reported to UK police in 2024
From Freedom of Information responses; 29 of 45 forces supplied usable data, so the true total is likely higher.
Every 21 min
Average interval between reported tool thefts in 2024
Roughly 70 reported thefts a day across the forces that responded.
12,414 (49%)
2024 cases that were thefts from vehicles
Just under half of all reported tool thefts involved a vehicle.
Alongside the value of the tools themselves, Direct Line Business estimated approximately £15.9m of lost business associated with tool theft in 2024, using survey data on average business lost after a theft. For a sole trader, the consequential loss — cancelled work, hire costs, downtime — is frequently larger than the replacement cost of the items.
Most tradespeople and self-employed couriers do not hold a structured inventory before a theft. Lists are assembled from memory, serial numbers are unavailable, thermal receipts have faded, and the list grows over days as items are remembered. That slows crime reports, weakens identification of recovered property, and makes claim handling harder for everyone involved.
Surrey Police crime-prevention guidance advises recording serial numbers, taking photographs and keeping receipts or other documents to help prove ownership. Federation of Master Builders guidance on tool-theft claims states that proof of purchase is key and recommends maintaining an equipment list including serial numbers and photographs. TVAR exists to make that record routine rather than exceptional. These sources describe the problem and the guidance; none of them endorse, approve or are affiliated with TVAR.
Figures relate to the 2024 calendar year and come from Direct Line Business' annual tool-theft report, based on Freedom of Information responses from 29 of 45 UK police forces. Because not every force responded, and many thefts go unreported, these are a partial picture rather than a national total. TVAR is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by Direct Line, any police force, insurer or trade body.
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