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Which Insurers Are Most Likely to Reject a Key Cover Claim?

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If you've lost your keys or had them stolen, you probably immediately wonder if your insurance covers keys and, if so, will your claim be accepted or will it be denied? To help you understand the odds, around 90% of car key insurance claims are successful, but the odds are very low that you'll need to claim.

Picture of lost car keys

In order to understand how claims data varies by insurer, we gathered data from the Financial Conduct Authority's most recent study on General Insurance value measures. Keep this information in mind when it comes time to purchase a new insurance policy or renew, when deciding if the extra £10 to £25 is worth it for add-on key cover.

Average Key Cover Claims Data

According to FCA data published at the end of 2023, the average successful key cover claim in 2022 was £315. These numbers reflect average numbers only—in actual fact, individual claims range from around £100 up to several hundreds of pounds or even more, depending on the value of your keys and the coverage limit and terms of your policy.

Around 86.8% of key cover claims are accepted on average, but this statistic varies from insurer to insurer. The table below shows the statistics for claims frequency, claims acceptance rate and average claim pay out by insurer:

Key Cover Claims Statistics

FirmAverage Claims FrequencyAverage Claims Acceptance RateAverage Claim Pay Out
Ageas Insurance Limited0 - 5%85 - 90%£0 - 500
Alwyn Insurance Company Limited0 - 5%95 - 100%£0 - 500
Astrenska Insurance Limited0 - 5%80 - 85%£0 - 500
AutoProtect (MBI) Ltd0 - 5%55 - 60%£0 - 500
esure Insurance Limited0 - 5%80 - 85%£0 - 500
Inter Partner Assistance SA0 - 5%95 - 100%£0 - 500
Inter Partner Assistance SA0 - 5%85 - 90%£0 - 500
RAC Motoring Services0 - 5%80 - 85%£0 - 500
Trinity Lane Insurance Company Limited0 - 5%95 - 100%£0 - 500
West Bay Insurance Plc0 - 5%90 - 95%£0 - 500
Average1.32%87%£315

Which company rejects the most key cover claims?

The data show that one company in particular stands out for accepting the least proportion of key claims: AutoProtect (MBI) Ltd, which only accepted 55 - 60% of key claims in 2022. This figure is significantly lower than the other companies. Personally, we would steer clear of a company with such outlying claims acceptance rates.

After this, the three companies least likely to accept a key cover claim were are RAC Motoring Services and Astrenska Insurance Limited (where the key cover was bought as an add on) and esure (where the key cover was bought as a standalone product). These three companies accepted 80 - 85% of key claims.

The three companies most likely to accept a motor add-on key cover claim are Alwyn Insurance Company Limited (key cover add on), Inter Partner Assistance SA (standalone cover) and Trinity Lane Insurance Company Limited (standalone cover), which paid out of 95% to 100% of key cover claims in 2022.

Chart showing claims acceptance rates on motor add-on key cover

Which company paid the most for key cover claims?

In 2022, the average key cover claim payout was £315, and all of the companies in the FCA General Insurance Value Measure report had an average claim pay out in the range of £0 - £500. Our separate analysis showed that the average cost to replace a car key was around £320 at the time, so this data makes sense.

Is car key cover worth it?

Only 1.32% of motor add-on key cover policies were claimed upon in 2022. And no company experienced key cover claims rates over 5%.

Since motor add-on key cover has such a low claims frequency, policyholders are highly unlikely to use key cover. If key cover is included in your policy for no extra charge—great!—but if not then you may want to think twice before paying extra for cover that you're not very likely to use, and that has relatively low risk/payouts if you do lose your keys or have them stolen.

One fact to consider is that any key cover that is included as standard on motor insurance policies often has a limit of around £300 - £500, which is enough for most people given the typical cost of a replacement car key and that the average key cover claim is less than £500. Paying for an add-on with a higher coverage limit of £1,000 to £1,500 may therefore be a waste of money. That said, those with very expensive keys might find a policy both comforting and valuable. Especially for the situation where your keys are stolen and you need to replace the locks and get multiple replacement keys.

Also keep in mind that many car key cover policies won't pay for keys that you've lost or misplaced, they'll only pay for theft. And many companies require you to prove that the person is possession of your keys knows the location or identity of your car, in order for a key theft claim to be accepted. It is very important to check these types of details in the policy wording before you buy add-on key cover. Before deciding if you should pay for key cover, you may want to find out how much it would cost to replace your car key if it's lost or stolen because the cost to replace your key can range from around £250 to over £500.

Key cover is a profitable add on for insurance companies—only 30.60% of premiums paid in were paid out in claims to policyholders. Compare this to motor insurance overall, where 64.51% of premiums are paid out in claims.

Why Are Key Cover Claims Rejected?

Motorists can take steps to increase the odds that their car key claim is accepted by understanding the terms of their policy and common exclusions. For example, motorists might have a car key theft claim denied if they can't prove that the person who stole the keys also knows how to find the insured car. There are typically a number of restrictions and exclusions with car key cover. Examples of what might NOT be covered by car key cover include:

  • Loss of keys (i.e., theft may be covered but not loss)
  • Accidental damage
  • Theft of keys if you can't prove that the identity or location of your car is known to the thief
  • Theft of keys if they were left in your car while it was unattended or unoccupied

For comparison sake, see our article on claim acceptance rates on home insurance.

Methodology

To get an idea of car key cover claims success, we gathered the most recently available FCA General Insurance value measures data, published in September 2023 reflecting data for the year ending 31 December 2022. We pulled out data for key cover that is sold as on add on to motor insurance. This typically covers both car keys as well as home keys. For the charts, we averaged the low and high ends of the data bands to calculate a mid point average across claims frequencies and claims acceptance rates.

To figure out which firm is the underwriter behind your insurance provider, find your provider's name in the following table. Once you identify the underwriting firm, you can use the table above to find their claim statistics.

Distributors/BrandsInsurer
Adrian FluxAgeas Insurance Limited
First Alternativeesure Insurance Limited
Motorplus LtdGreat Lakes Insurance SE
Qdos Broker and Underwriting Services LtdGreat Lakes Insurance SE
QmetricAgeas Insurance Limited
Sheilas' Wheelsesure Insurance Limited
Supercover Insurance LtdGreat Lakes Insurance SE
Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) LtdGreat Lakes Insurance SE
AvivaAgeas Insurance Limited
esureesure Insurance Limited
Tesco BankAgeas Insurance Limited
BGAgeas Insurance Limited
Eldon Insurance ServicesAmtrust Europe Limited
EUI Ltd (e.g. Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited)Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited
Motorists Insurance Services LtdGreat Lakes Insurance SE

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FAQs

Car insurance may or may not include cover for stolen car keys. Most comprehensive policies include some level of cover for stolen keys, commonly up to £200 or so. Whether or not a basic level is included as standard, some brands let you purchase an optional extra to give a higher coverage level, often £1,000 to £1,500, and this enhanced key cover may include cover for home, business and car keys, plus a courtesy car while you're waiting for new keys.
No, car insurance won't cover you for theft of your car if the car keys were left in or on the Car or if the car was left unattended with the engine running.
Even if your car insurance policy includes "key cover," you may find this only extends to theft and not to "lost" keys. Add-on policies may be more likely to include loss. For instance, you can add key cover to a Hastings Direct car insurance policy and this includes loss and theft.
Key cover can reimburse you for a lost, stolen or damaged car key. A plan may cover theft only; theft and loss; or theft, loss and damage. Key cover that's included on a comprehensive policy typically has a limit around £300. Add-on policies typically have higher limits (£1,000 to £1,500) and may include cover for house, car and business keys, a courtesy car and onward travel.
It depends on the policy. Many key cover add ons will include protection for home, car and business keys—but be sure to check if loss is covered as well as theft, because it isn't always.
Key cover is unlikely to be used. In fact, only 1.5% of key cover policies in the UK are actually claimed upon. While key cover will absolutely help motorists who are able to make use of it, the very low claims frequency means paying extra for key cover could be a waste of money. Key cover is included as standard in some car insurance plans, however, such as LV car insurance.

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The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.

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