Baltimore News Journal

If you’re trying to get home insurance, you might be surprised to hear that one tiny detail can end it voiding, or be the reason your premium shoots up extremely high – the locks on your doors!

In most parts of the world, people use regular, euro-cylinder locks. Now, from the looks of it, you might not notice there being anything wrong with these locks. They’ve been used for decades and seem to do the job well, so why would they be the reason that you face issues while getting insurance? Well, they’re simply too weak!

Regular, euro-cylinder locks are extremely vulnerable to attacks. Burglars can easily pick them, or worse, snap them in half and gain entry to your home without even needing any special tools or skills! This means that even if you were to lock your doors at night, it’ll be as if you left them unlocked because they don’t stop an intruder from making it through, they only delay it by maybe a few minutes at best. If your doors have these locks installed, it shows the insurance company that there’s a lot of added risk to insuring your home. This leads to them either denying the insurance altogether or setting such a high premium that it ends up not being worth it to even get the insurance. Both are scenarios that we want to avoid. 

So what type of locks do insurance companies want?

Most insurance companies prefer homes that have insurance-grade locks. These are locks you can easily buy online or in most stores too. These may look like regular locks at first sight, but they’re different. 

Insurance grade locks are built in a way that makes them stronger. They have been built to be “snap-proof”, meaning that if a burglar were to try to break into your home, they’ll have a much harder time making their way through the lock. This is usually the minimum level of security insurance companies require you to have. It makes the process of getting insurance at a low premium that much more likely! 

Different Types of Insurance Grade Locks

Insurance grade locks aren’t just one shape and size, there are different types of them for different types of doors and windows! Below are 4 of the most common ones!

1. The five-lever mortice deadlock
   
   These locks look like regular ones, but to install them, you need to have a cavity cut into the wall. This way, the lock locks into the wall and stays there until it’s been unlocked properly. The general rule of thumb is that the more levers there are in a lock, the more secure it is. This is because it requires more points of contact to be able to be locked! One of the best ones is a five-lever mortice deadlock. Which also happen to be the most common insurance grade locks available in the market. These can be installed in almost every type of door. The only thing you need to be wary of with these is that they’re fitted properly. Any recommended Locksmith Chicago, or a trusted locksmith in your area should be able to install these for you, ensuring that they function properly. 

2. Key operated multi-point locking system
   
   These locks are for uPVC doors. These require you to pull the handle up and lock it with the key, there’s no regular lock, the key needs to be present at the time of locking and unlocking, otherwise, the door stays in place!

3. Night latches
   
   Unlike a noticed lock that’s cut into the wall, these are attached to the door. They usually work very easily and have a little clip that can be used to open them. However, if you lock them with the key they come with, the lock becomes deadlocked and stays locked until you decide to unlock it!

4. Key-operated window locks
   
   Regular window locks have a latch or a handle that allows for easy locking and unlocking. With key-operated window locks, you’re going to need to turn the key to lock and unlock the window each time. Making these far more secure and making it less likely for a burglar to just break in!

As long as all of your insurance grade locks are certified, i.e have the Kitemark symbol and are installed professionally, your home will be a lot more secure than it would’ve been without them. Making it that much easier for you to get insurance!