Thatcham S5 and S7 trackers, explained in plain English

Most people meet these two categories the same way: a renewal comes through, or a quote comes back higher than expected, and somewhere in the wording is a line saying the vehicle needs a Thatcham S5 or S7 tracker fitted. No explanation of what that means, and a deadline.

Who Thatcham are, and what they certify

Thatcham Research is an independent body funded by the motor insurance industry. Among other things, it tests vehicle security equipment and certifies what passes.

The important word is equipment. Thatcham certifies the product, which is the tracker itself. It does not run an approved-installer scheme and it does not certify garages. If you see anyone advertising themselves as a “Thatcham-approved installer”, they are describing something that does not exist. What can fairly be said is that the system is Thatcham-certified, and that whoever fits it is competent.

The current categories replaced the old Cat 5, 6 and 7 numbering on 1 January 2019. If you have an older policy document or an older car, you may still see the old numbers.

Category S7: monitored tracking

S7 covers what Thatcham calls asset location systems.

A concealed unit is wired into the vehicle and reports its position to a monitoring centre. If the car is stolen you tell the monitoring centre, and they work with the police to locate and recover it. There is an app so you can see where the vehicle is yourself.

There is nothing to carry. No tag, no fob, nothing to clip to your keys or leave behind on the kitchen table.

What S7 does not do is know who is driving. It knows where the car is and whether it is moving. So it is a recovery product. It comes into play after the car has gone, and its value is that the car is findable rather than gone for good.

For most people asked to fit “a tracker” with no category named, S7 is what is meant, and it is the cheaper of the two.

Category S5: tracking that knows who is driving

S5 does everything S7 does and adds automatic driver recognition, usually shortened to ADR.

You carry a small tag. When the car moves with a tag present, the system reads that as you driving. When the car moves without a tag, it reads that as a theft happening right now. The monitoring centre is alerted automatically and rings you to check, rather than waiting for you to look out of a window and notice a gap on the driveway.

That distinction is the whole reason S5 exists, and it maps onto how cars are actually stolen. In a relay attack the thief gets your key’s signal, so the car unlocks and starts. What they do not have is a tag. The car moves, no tag is present, and the alarm is raised while the vehicle is still nearby.

S5 Plus goes one step further and adds immobilisation, so the system can stop the engine restarting. If your policy names S5 Plus specifically, say so when you get a quote, because it is a different specification.

Which one do you need?

Read the wording your insurer sent you. It really is the whole answer, and it is not a fob-off.

• If it names S5, fit S5. An S7 will not satisfy it, and finding that out at claim time is the expensive way.
• If it names S7, fit S7. Fitting S5 is not wrong, but you are paying for something you were not asked for.
• If it just says “a tracker” with no category, S7 usually covers it. Ring and ask, and get the answer in writing while you are on the phone.

Insurers tend to ask for S5 on higher-value cars, performance cars, and vehicles on specialist or agreed-value policies. Below that threshold S7 is the common requirement.

If you are fitting one without being asked, the question is different: what are you actually worried about? If it is the car being taken off a driveway overnight, S5 raises the alarm while it is happening. If it is theft in general and you want the car findable afterwards, S7 does that for less.

The part people miss: the subscription

Both categories rely on a monitoring centre, and monitoring is a subscription.

The first year is normally included in the fitting price. After that it renews annually, and if it lapses, the cover lapses with it. A tracker with no live subscription is a box in a car. It is not meeting the requirement your insurer set, and insurers do check when a claim is made.

Diarise the renewal. It is the single most common way this goes wrong, and it goes wrong quietly.

Getting the certificate

After the system is fitted and tested, the monitoring platform emails you a certificate. That document is what your insurer wants.

It comes from the platform rather than from the garage, which is why it arrives by email instead of being handed to you. Any fitter should set the system up so the certificate reaches you, and should test it live with the monitoring centre before you drive away. A unit that has been screwed in is not the same as a system proven to report.

What it is worth being sceptical about

Any tracker sold without a Thatcham category attached is answering a different question. There are perfectly good non-certified trackers, and they can be useful for keeping an eye on a vehicle, but they will not meet an insurer’s requirement and should never be sold as though they might.

If you are buying because a policy told you to, the certification is the entire point of the purchase. Check it is there before you pay.