What is Lock Smith Insurance?

As a locksmith, you help protect other people’s property; and your services could be called upon any time, day or night. You face a unique set of risks in your work, and buying locksmith business insurance can help to mitigate those risks and give you essential protection for yourself, your business, and your assets.

Here, we’ll explain everything you need to know before you buy locksmith insurance.

What types of insurance do locksmiths need?

As with any commercial business, a locksmith needs to buy insurance to cover their liabilities, and to prevent any undue financial stress should a claim be made against you or your business. If you’re looking at prices for locksmith coverage, then you might want to know the different types of insurance you need to buy.

General Liability Coverage for Locksmiths

As one of the most essential insurance policies a locksmith business needs, buying general liability on its own or as part of a business owner policy is vital. This gives you coverage against a variety of exposures, including bodily and personal injury, property damage, advertising injury, and more.

As a locksmith, you work directly with other people’s property, and there is always a risk of causing damage to that property. If this happens, then having a general liability policy in place will protect you in the event, you need to pay to repair any damage to that property.

Business Property Insurance for Locksmiths

If any unexpected event causes damage to your business premises, then any inventory or equipment you keep in that location, along with the building itself, will be covered. This could include events such as vandalism, fire, natural disasters, and floods. Each commercial insurance policy will cover different events so it’s important to check what is and is not covered by your policy before you buy it.

Locksmith Inland Marine Coverage

Because locksmiths will use specialist equipment and tools at different job sites, this will provide you with coverage for this, along with any equipment that is being stored or transported. For instance, if you visit a client to help them with a problem, and you find your tools are vandalized or damaged while on-site, this insurance will cover this event.

Business Auto Insurance Locksmiths

Buying a commercial auto insurance policy for your locksmith business is essential, regardless of whether you use a single vehicle or a fleet of vehicles to protect. As almost all of the services you provide as a locksmith are mobile, you will need to buy auto insurance for your work-related activities. This gives you coverage for any accidents that may occur while you are in transit, with the majority of business auto insurance policies giving you protection in the event of vandalism, personal injury, and/or theft.

If you need to buy a fleet insurance policy for your locksmith business, discussing this with an expert commercial insurance agent can ensure you are getting the best value for money, and the most suitable type of coverage for your individual business needs.

Other types of insurance a locksmith may need to buy are listed below.

Locksmiths tools and equipment insurance – This provides you with coverage for your essential tools, such as key extractors, tensions tools, picks guns, and more.

Worker's compensation coverage – If you hire people in your business, you’ll need to buy this coverage to pay for any medical expenses should they sustain an injury at work or develop a work-related illness. 

Cybercrime or Data breach Insurance – If you hold any personal information about your clients or their properties, then you will need to buy this insurance to give you coverage in the event that this information becomes compromised.

How much does insurance cost for a locksmith business?

There are many factors that can impact the cost of buying locksmith business insurance. Some of these include:

• Company revenue
• The value of your equipment and property
• The type of services you provide
• The location of your business and service area
• The number of employees you have
• The number of years you have been trading for

Why do locksmiths need insurance?

If you consider the type of work you do, which could involve installations, repairs, and adjustments to locks, safes, and vaults, the safety of the individuals and equipment within those buildings primarily falls down to you; whether you provide mechanical or electrical locksmith services, even with the most skilled and experienced locksmiths, there are occasions when things could go wrong. This could be down to human error, the products you use, or it may be outside of your control. Should you face legal action, having the best locksmith insurance in place can protect you from financial stress, and it can preserve the continuity of your business.

In some cases, where you need to work on a government project or a larger job, they may request you have adequate coverage in place before you are allowed to bid for the job.

If you need to buy locksmith insurance, it’s always best to speak with an expert commercial agent first to ensure you are purchasing the best level of insurance for your individual risk profile.

What are the risks locksmith companies need to buy insurance for?

There is a unique set of risks faced by people operating as a locksmith or locksmith company; here are some of the most common risks a locksmith has to protect itself against.

• Almost all of your work is mobile, and you will typically transport a range of specialist equipment in your company vehicle. In most cases, this equipment will be left in the vehicle overnight, and without the right tools, it would not be possible to carry out any work.
• If any of your equipment was to malfunction or breakdown, you would be unable to earn income for the business.
• Because your work involves the security of residential and commercial premises, if a product or the work you do isn’t 100% effective, this poses a risk that you will be liable for the content of their property, long-after the work has been carried out.

Knowing the right level of liability insurance to buy for a locksmith company isn’t always straightforward. Speak with an expert locksmith insurance agent to get guidance on how much liability coverage you need to buy for your business and obtain insurance quotes for your locksmith business.