Coverages You Don’t Know You Have: Lock Replacement/Re-Keying
May 26, 2021
Tucked away in all kinds of insurance policies are wonderful little coverages most people aren’t aware of. From good-will payments if you accidentally damage someone’s property, to food that spoiled after your freezer breaks down, there are many different coverages included (for free!) in your home insurance policy.
Today, we are focusing on one such included coverage: Lock Replacement.
Most comprehensive home insurance policies include $1,000 – $2,000 coverage if your keys are stolen and you need to have your locks re-keyed. Depending on the situation, the insurance company may have your locks replaced instead of re-keying them.
According to Mr. Locksmith Vancouver, the average cost to re-key a lock is around $100, while replacing locks on a home can cost anywhere from $250-$500.
On a typical home insurance policy, no deductible is charged for lock replacement/re-keying.
Most insurers require you to report your stolen keys to the police or local law enforcement before they will pay a claim for lock re-keying or replacement. The police will give you a file/case number when you report the keys as stolen, and the insurance company will ask for this number as confirmation that the incident has been reported to law enforcement.
Remember, too, that if your purse or wallet was stolen along with your keys, you may be at an increased risk for Identity Theft. There’s coverage for that, which can be easily added to your home insurance, condo insurance, or tenant insurance policy – just make sure to add it before anything happens!
Are you wondering, What about my car? I have good news for you: There is also coverage available for lock re-keying for your car through your auto insurance policy.
If you have private auto insurance in BC, lock re-keying is most likely automatically included in the policy, up to a limit of around $1,000, with no deductible applying to this coverage.
If your vehicle is insured through ICBC, and your locks are damaged in an attempted (or actual) theft, re-keying would be covered by Comprehensive or Specified Perils coverage.
If your keys are stolen, however, there is coverage for lock re-keying through the RoadStar and Roadside Plus add-ons with ICBC. Through the RoadStar package, you would have $500 coverage for lock re-keying (subject to your comprehensive deductible), and under the Roadside Plus package, you would have $1,000 coverage for lock re-keying and the deductible would be waived. (For an in-depth comparison of Roadstar vs. Roadside Plus, click here.)
To find out whether you have lock re-keying coverage on your home and/or auto insurance policies, contact your broker.
