Locksmith work your insurer will actually pay for.

Usually yes, if your policy covers theft and your locks met the policy conditions at the time. The emergency make-safe, the replacement locks and any door or frame damage are normally all claimable. What catches people out is the lock condition: most UK home policies require BS3621 deadlocks on final exit doors, and if yours did not have one, the insurer can decline the whole claim rather than just the lock. Ring your insurer for a claim number before the work starts where you can, and we will invoice to it.

An itemised invoice with parts and labour separated, not a single line saying locksmith and a number. The make and model of every lock removed and every lock fitted. The BS number where one applies. Photographs of the damage before anything was touched, and after it was repaired. A written description of what was forced and how. We produce all of that on every insurance job as standard, because a one-line invoice is the most common reason a reasonable claim gets reduced.

Betterment is the insurer arguing you have ended up better off than before. Your old cylinder was a basic euro, the new one is anti-snap, so they pay the basic price and you cover the difference. It is legitimate in principle and applied too broadly in practice. The way through it is documentation: if the old lock was already anti-snap, we photograph and record it, and there is nothing to argue about. If it was not, we tell you what the gap will be before we fit, so you choose with your eyes open rather than finding out at settlement.

Often yes. Most home policies include lock replacement after lost or stolen keys, commonly up to a few hundred pounds, and a lot of people never claim because they assume it is only for break-ins. If the keys were taken along with anything showing your address, a wallet, a bag, a parcel, that strengthens it considerably because your address is now compromised. Ring your insurer, get a claim number, then ring us and we will invoice against it.

The only way to know is to read the policy wording and then look at the doors. The usual requirement is BS3621 on final exit doors, sometimes on all external doors, and key-operated locks on accessible windows. A BS3621 lock has the kitemark and the number stamped on the faceplate, visible when the door is open. If you cannot find it, it probably is not there. We will survey the whole property and give you a written report for £45 to £75, and if you already comply we will tell you that and charge you for the survey rather than inventing an upgrade.

Ask them in writing which specific policy condition they say was breached, and get the wording. Insurers sometimes apply a condition that is not actually in your policy, or apply a final exit door condition to a door that is not the final exit. If the condition genuinely was not met, they are usually within their rights. If you think they are wrong, the Financial Ombudsman Service is free to use and you can go to them once you have a final response letter. We are locksmiths, not lawyers, so that is the limit of what we can usefully tell you.