Rekeying of Locks

February 7, 2012

Will an HO-3 cover the rekeying of home locks? The insured's keys were stolen and he is requesting we cover the cost to rekey his home.

 California Subscriber

Keys are personal property and theft is a covered cause of loss. Keys are useless unless there is a corresponding lock, so the keys and lock can be considered a pair or set. The policy pays to repair or replace any part to restore the pair or set to its value before the loss, or the difference between the actual cash value before or after the loss. Therefore rekeying would be covered as a repair, or since a lock is worthless without a key, the cost of new locks and keys is still covered.