This is news to me. My understanding is the thief becomes responsible for damages caused by the vehicle once the car is stolen.

I think if there were a third-party liability issue, such as a person driving a stolen car being in a collision, hitting a pedestrian, etc. the liability would be on the driver.

In this instance it was not a third-party liability claim, and presumably the thief was unknown.

Whoa, wait a minute! Didn't the owner report the car as stolen?

The bill for the retrieval had to be paid. They didn’t stop being the owner when the vehicle was stolen.

They were still the owner, so they were still responsible for retrieval of the vehicle. If they had comprehensive insurance that included theft insurance, the insurance would have paid the bill.

This is news to me. My understanding is the thief becomes responsible for damages caused by the vehicle once the car is stolen.

Google search for "if your car is stolen, are you liable for any damages caused by the thief?"

Whoa, wait a minute! Didn't the owner report the car as stolen?

The bill for the retrieval had to be paid. They didn’t stop being the owner when the vehicle was stolen.

They were still the owner, so they were still responsible for retrieval of the vehicle. If they had comprehensive insurance that included theft insurance, the insurance would have paid the bill.

Here is an example on “no insurance”. The owner had no theft insurance on a low value vehicle. The vehicle was stolen. Months later it was found a Gad to be towed out of a 450 meter deep ravine. The owner was liable for the bill of at least C$2,000.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/car-stolen-it-may-still-cost-you-as-kamloops-man-finds-out-1.3891934

I can think of a couple of things I don’t want to scrimp on, insurance and parachutes.

Whoa, wait a minute! Didn't the owner report the car as stolen?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/car-stolen-it-may-still-cost-you-as-kamloops-man-finds-out-1.3891934

I can think of a couple of things I don’t want to scrimp on, insurance and parachutes.

Back in our RV days, many snowbirds would only buy enough insurance for their trips south then back north, thinking they didn't need it when they were parked in an RV park. We saw so many bad things happen. Worse, 6 months or a years worth of insurance was not much more than their two short policies.

Does anyone have recommendations for an auto insurance company to use, or one to avoid? I will be wanting to get extensive coverage… third-party liability, on-site legal representation, collision, comprehensive, theft…