Lock Spec and Home Insurance | Don't Void Your Claim

A question I keep getting, and got again twice last week from callers in Twickenham and North Sheen: has anything changed with what insurers require on locks? The prompt varies. Sometimes it's a news story about regulation being simplified. Sometimes it's a comparison site telling someone their policy is 'standard'. Sometimes it's just a renewal letter that looks identical to last year's and they assumed nothing needed checking.

The answer is always the same. No, nothing has changed on lock specifications. And yes, you still need to check, because the gap between what a policy requires and what's actually in the door is where void claims happen.

What Insurers Actually Require

Your insurer's lock requirements come from its own underwriting standards, not from any regulator. Those standards have been broadly consistent for years. They don't change because of industry news or regulatory restructuring. They're printed in the policy schedule, usually under a heading like 'security requirements' or 'locks and security conditions', and they apply on the day of a claim, not the day you took the policy out.

For most residential policies in the UK, the minimums look like this:

Some policies add Sold Secure or Secured by Design requirements on outbuilding padlocks. Read the schedule, not the product summary.

The Sequence That Voids a Claim

A property in Petersham or East Sheen gets broken into. The homeowner calls the insurer. The loss adjuster asks for photos of the damaged lock. The cylinder is a builder's-fit euro profile, no star rating, no anti-snap feature, no Kitemark. The insurer checks the policy wording. It required a TS007 3-star cylinder on all euro-profile locks. The claim is refused.

That sequence is not unusual. It plays out across Surrey every year.

The cylinder that fails the check is usually the original one the developer or previous owner fitted. Nobody swapped it. Nobody checked what it was. Nobody thought to look until a loss adjuster asked.

How to Check Your Own Cylinders

A TS007 3-star rating is marked on the cylinder body, usually on the face or the top of the plug, and on the original packaging. If there's no marking visible and you don't have a receipt proving the specification, assume it isn't rated.

Brands that make genuinely TS007 3-star cylinders include Avocet ABS, Ultion, and Yale Platinum 3-Star, among others. The Master Locksmiths Association publishes a searchable product list if you want to verify a specific model. Not every high-security cylinder carries TS007 3-star as such. Mul-T-Lock's MT5+ is a seriously good cylinder with its own independently tested credentials, but it's not TS007 3-star rated, so if your policy specifically requires that rating, check whether your insurer will accept an equivalent before fitting one.

A generic silver euro cylinder from a DIY shed is not going to be rated. Replace it.

Replacing a euro cylinder with a TS007 3-star unit typically costs £60 to £110 fitted, depending on brand and the size of the cylinder needed. A refused claim costs considerably more.

Before Your Next Renewal

• Pull out the policy schedule and note exactly what standard is required for each door type.
• Check every external door. Look at the cylinder face for a star rating or Kitemark, or dig out the receipt if you've had one fitted recently.
• If you're a landlord, this applies across the portfolio. Every property, not just your own home.
• Small businesses in Richmond town centre, Kew, or St Margarets face the same issue on commercial policies, which can be even less forgiving. BS3621 on timber fire exits and TS007 on front-door cylinders are common requirements.

The renewal letter is the right moment to do this. Before you accept the auto-renewal, not after you've clicked confirm.

If you'd rather have someone check the spec in person before your renewal date, Rapid Response covers Richmond and the TW postcodes, usually arriving in under 30 minutes. Pricing is given honestly on the call before anyone touches anything.