22nd February 2019
Home and Car Keys Protection
Home and Car Key Security
- What would you have to do if your keys were lost or stolen?
- How soon could you have your lock changed?
- Would you have to change the lock on your vehicle?
- Are you insured for the replacement key cost?
Did you know:
- If the burglar entered your home using your lost or stolen keys, you may find out that you are not insured under your home insurance.
- Or if your car was stolen using your keys, you may also find out that you are not covered by your car insurance.
Important — remember your keys are valuable to a thief!
Key Safety Overnight
The best place for a door key is on your person or at the side of your bed. This may not be possible, depending on your individual circumstances such as the number and age of the people living in your family home or shared accommodation, if you’re at University.
You should always put your personal safety and that of your family first in the event of a fire, rather than protecting the property.
We would advise that you don’t leave the keys in the lock, but in a place that everyone knows and can find in the dark.
Burglaries For Car Keys
Thieves are increasingly entering people’s homes just to steal the car keys in order to then steal the car. With the improvements in car security overtime it has made it more difficult for would-be thieves to steal your car without the keys. This has led to criminals now targeting the car keys in order to successfully steal the car.
How can they steal the car keys from my home?
They can use a number of methods such as:
- Fishing through the letterbox to get the keys off a table, stairs or hook.
- Reaching through a cat flap.
- Smashing or forcing a window or door to grab keys that are in view.
- It has also been known for criminals to threaten the person for there car keys, especially when the vehicle is of high value. If this happens do not offer any resistance but try and remember as much information about the criminal(s), as this will help the police.
- Distraction techniques – they call at your door and while your distracted grab your keys.
We would recommend that you always leave your keys out of sight, so don’t leave them lying on the kitchen/hall table or on the windowsill.
How Do I Choose A Place To Store My Keys?
Ask yourself where is the last place I would think of putting my keys?
A criminal will be thinking along the lines of where they would likely leave them if they lived there. So, try and think of somewhere outside of the box, you could use an old food tin in your kitchen cupboard to hide your keys.
Remember good basic security will protect your house keys and car keys so:
- Make sure your home and car keys are not in view.
- If you have a garage park your car in it.
- Install a good home alarm and use it overnight. A thief isn’t going to spend long looking for keys if an alarm is ringing.
- Don’t open doors to strangers especially when you are alone in the property, also use a door chain where possible.
- Consider a tracking device for your car.
- Get key insurance.