My Keys Cost $1500! Really??

How much does a key cost? At one level, it is 2 or 3 bucks. You give your existing key to the staff of a store and it gets mounted into a machine and a copy is cut. This is common for house keys.

However, there is a completely different answer. At our provincial locksmith conference, I was told of a different way of looking at this.* The cost of your key ring is the total of your house and automobile insurance deductibles. Look the two deductibles up and if your key ring is stolen and later used to get your car and rob your house, you get to pay this amount before any insurance claim.

Search Google News for 'stolen keys' and you will find it is a common method to get access to cars. This is a reasonable consequence of the electronics in keys in many car models. Without a key, the ignition column can be smashed open but the car will not start.

The only case where I have direct experience, involved a coat stolen from the staff area in the back of a big restaurant. The back door was left unlocked routinely to let other staff enter unhindered. A cook was done his shift and found his coat missing with keys in the pocket. He looked outside and the car was gone. I entered the picture to meet the wife as soon as possible to change the keying on the house. The risk of a thief using stolen keys is highest in the first few hours and the car theft proved the culprit was willing to use the stolen keys. The house was fine when she got home which was faster then the husband who was taking a taxi. (When I was done, the car was reported stolen but police had not yet found it.)

In this case, they may pay the cost of the insurance deductible for the car and then the cost to rekey the house. Rekeying a car is usually far more costly.

Changing the keying of a house has many different prices. Some townhouses have one locked door with one deadbolt. That is a half hour call. Some luxury homes have over 12 locks all over the place. Also, in a crisis like this the change has to be made as fast as possible to be the most effective. Locksmiths are like plumbers and have day rates, evening rates and late night rates. The client has to decide if the price is worth it. Go ahead and compare to your insurance deductibles.


* My apologies but can not recall who this is or I would give credit. If you remember telling me over lunch in the coffee shop of the Capri Centre, do let me know.


--- --- --- --- ---
The contents of this post are released for non-profit or educational use in whole or in part provided this statement and the attribution below are kept attached.

Laux Myth ... Thoughts From a Locksmith
By MartinB, Found @ http://lauxmyth.blogspot.com/