Does anyone know anything about insurance approved door locks.
I've a friend who's home insurance is up and they've asked if the door lock is insurance approved but she doesn't know. She has a Euro profile lock with a thumb turn on the inside and that's it. Does it need to specifically a 5 or 6 pin and can you tell without removing the lock itself if its approved?

in the paperwork for the insurange there will be the standards the lock must meet, one of these will be printed on the lock (normally the bolt face), usualy a BS number i think.

[Edited on 21/9/10 by dan__wright]

one of the comparison website, sorry i forget which had a nice guide to locks when i was looking. had picks of all the accepted.

She's no paperwork to look at and I'll be buggered if I can find mine amongst the pile of junk mail I'm forever sent!
I'll have a look at the comparison sites, thanks.

normally the BS is marked on the lock itself.




If not, then its probably not a very good lock.

if the door has a modern 3 point locking mechanism and the euro lock barrel is a big name no problem.
If the lock barrel is not a big name eg Yale, change it and make sure the new lock is the correct length so only projects an minimum distance out from the escutcheon it is a 5 minute job to change.


With any Euro lock the weak point is the lock barrel its' self. I had to change a Euro cylinder on a patio door recently for a friend who had lost her keys. It was very easy to find out how to get past it and even easier to get it open.


With Euro lock barrels it pays to buy a 20 pound Yale rather than only slightly the cheaper brass ones, also with Yale you get 3 keys rather than 2.

I know how easy they are to break and get past, occupational thing
I had a trip to the lock shop and they've told me that the euro profile cylinder will be inside a mortice type affair and for the thing to be insurance quality it has to be a 6 pin with armoured escutcheons and the mortice type thing he showed me was a heavy duty thing. All in around £80 but better than paying out when you're burgaled I suppose.

This site makes Interesting reading.

I told them it's one that I lock with a key, and you can't get in by booting the door I've tried it... They weren't happy so I told them I can take a picture of it and send it to them