Lost and Stolen Car Keys

Lost or stolen car keys are sure to ruin your day. Whilst you can easily prevent the loss of your keys, thefts are harder to avert and leave you with an insecure car. Follow our advice on how to protect your keys and vehicle, and where to turn to when the worst happens.

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Stolen Keys

Stolen keys are a worst-case scenario, but it is always best to have a plan in place to prepare for such a situation. Your best course of action is to do your best to prevent your keys from being stolen in the first place. Firstly, keep your house and car keys separate from each other: the more keys on a ring, the more inviting they are to a thief. In your home, store your keys out of view of doors and windows, preferably in an enclosed space to prevent intervention with any keyless entry technology. Whilst you are out and about, keep your keys somewhere safe and close to your person. An ideal spot is a zipped compartment in a bag, which will be more difficult for a thief to access than a pocket.

If you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation where your keys have been stolen, the most important issues to consider are how to replace your keys and how to ensure the security of your car. Most modern car keys are replaceable via the manufacturer, so contact your local manufacturer directly for a replacement. They will ensure that you have the correct technology for your car model.

In the meantime, it is essential to make sure your car remains secure without keys. There are a few steps you can follow to help your vehicle stay safe:

• Park your car at a distance from your home or workplace.
• Prevent theft by installing a steering wheel lock* or wheel clamp*.
• Call the police to get a crime reference number, which you will need for an insurance claim.
• Store your replacement key securely, using the advice above.

Lost Keys

There is nothing more irritating than losing your keys! This always seems to happen at a pivotal moment, usually when you are already late or about to step out the door. Whilst retracing your steps and conducting a thorough search are the obvious next actions, it can be helpful to put tools in place before the loss takes place, which will make the search for lost keys much easier.

Install a tracker to trace the location of your keys from your smartphone. Tile trackers attach to your keyring*, then the Tile app on your phone lets you ring the tracker, which will emit a loud noise to help you locate your keys. It is an easy solution if you find yourself losing your keys often.

Another useful step for frequent key loss is to take out an insurance policy that covers keys, which can help reduce the cost of repeated key replacements.

Car Keys – Car Insurance Claim

You can claim for stolen keys via your car’s insurance. Even if your car keys are stolen from your home, this is not typically covered by your home insurance policy, so go directly to your car insurance provider. However, you will probably be met with an expensive excess that can increase your premium and prove more costly than the replacement of keys. Such a claim will also affect your no claims discount, despite it being unrelated to your physical vehicle.

A sensible alternative is to look for a car key specific insurance policy, which is typically additional to your standard car insurance. These ensure that the theft of keys is covered, without affecting your car insurance premium or no claims bonus. Although this is an additional cost, it will be far less expensive than the price to replace your keys or locks and the labour costs for such work.

If you need to claim for lost or stolen keys, there are a few options to turn to. Apart from your car insurance provider, you can also claim through three other avenues:

• Contact your car warranty provider (this will only be viable if keys are included in the policy).
• Your breakdown cover provider may also include car key protection.
• Look into car key insurers, as these usually include cover for key fobs.

Key loss or theft can happen to anyone and the best step you can take is to keep your keys in a secure place, away from prying eyes. If the worst does happen, there are plenty of insurance protections that can reduce the cost of a replacement.