This is 'a serious problem': State Farm and Progressive are now refusing to cove...

Two of America’s largest car insurers have thrown in the towel after a viral TikTok challenge caused an “explosive” spike in car thefts.

The social media trend saw thieves hotwiring certain Kia and Hyundai cars and SUVs using nothing but a USB cord — and if they were feeling fancy, a screwdriver.

After a surge in theft claims, insurers State Farm and Progressive are now refusing to cover select models made by the big South Korean auto firms because they are too easy to steal.

“[This is a] serious problem impacting our customers and the entire auto insurance industry,” State Farm said in a media statement.

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Which models are impacted?

The Kia and Hyundai models being targeted by TikTok thieves were released between 2011 and 2021.

According to 2021 insurance claims records from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), Kia and Hyundai models from 2015 to 2019 are roughly twice as likely to be stolen as other vehicles of similar age.

What makes them so easy to steal is that many of them lack a basic theft prevention technology called an electronic immobilizer, a tool that stops the engine from starting unless the correct key is present.

Immobilizers can be found in 96% of vehicles sold for the 2015 to 2019 model years, according to the HDLI, but only 26% of Kias and Hyundais had them at the time, leaving them vulnerable.

Without an immobilizer, anyone can break into a car and bypass the ignition with ease, the HLDI said. And they don’t need to be a professional car thief to succeed — they just need TikTok.

The theft statistics speak for themselves.