Cover for your keys

If your keys are lost or stolen the consequences can be distressing and time-consuming. It is not just a question of the missing keys of course, but the locks to which they give free access to your car or home. Lost or stolen keys invariably mean the swift and costly replacement of the relevant locks, therefore. This is why a number of insurance companies specifically include cover for your keys in their insurance policies.

Many comprehensive motor insurance policies, for example, will include provision not only for the replacement of lost or stolen car keys, but also for the replacement of the locks that have been compromised as a result. If you are not sure whether such items are covered, check your motor insurance policy or ask your broker or insurance adviser.

Occasionally, cover for your motor car keys might also be included in your house contents insurance policy. This is less common, so it might be worthwhile checking your contents insurance rather than assuming that the loss or theft of car keys is also included.

Home contents insurance is, however, almost certain to include cover for your keys to the house itself, any alarms or safes, and any garages or outbuildings – and, of course, the replacement of the related locks. If any of these keys goes missing, then you are likely to need to decide quickly whether there is any chance of their having fallen into the wrong hands and potentially used for a burglary. Adequate insurance cover for your keys will also give you the comfort of knowing that the relevant locks can be swiftly replaced.

• Although such insurance certainly provides peace of mind, there are a number of steps you can take to minimise the risk of loss or theft of your keys:
• Whether at home or about and about, keep your keys out of sight;
• Do not leave keys in an unattended bag in any public place, public transport, a club or the pub;
• Do not leave keys where they can be seen – such as a hall table or on hooks close to the back or front door;
• Remove keys from window locks and door locks, to stop burglars from using them as an easy means of exit;
• When you are out and about or at work, keep your keys separately from any note or record of your address – you would not want to hand any thief your keys together with the details of where you live;
• It is a good idea to change the locks when moving into a new house, whether it has been vacated by previous tenants or owner-occupiers. You have no way of knowing who else they might have given keys to;
• Whenever your keys have been lost or stolen, change the relevant locks as soon as possible, particularly if your address could have been stolen too or any thief might have a way of knowing where you live.

Cover for your keys will effectively compensate you for any financial loss in replacing the keys and relevant locks, but the above measures could help you avoid the stress and inconvenience of having to replace them in the first place.