While most individuals insure their vehicles, insuring the keys will not be a typical apply due to the idea that changing misplaced car keys will not be costly. However, that is the place most individuals err. While cost of changing keys of guide locking vehicles is relatively affordable, the cost of a brand new set of keys for distant or keyless locking vehicles can cost between Rs 8,000 for high-end vehicles like Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Polo and as much as Rs 1 lakh for premium vehicles like Fortuner. This is why these shopping for vehicles with distant locking or feature-laden locking methods ought to critically think about insuring their car keys.
Additionally, if you assume that you can keep away from changing a misplaced car key bear in mind that incase of your car is stolen you insurance coverage declare for a similar is can be rejected by the insurer if you do not posses all of the keys to the car. Read “Insurance company can reject claim for stolen car if you don’t have all keys” for extra particulars.
You must be conscious that almost all car insurance policies don’t cowl lack of keys. In order to insure the keys, one has to purchase an add-on rider wherever supplied. Generally, the cost of this rider varies between Rs 100 and Rs 300 relying on the car mannequin/variant.
Why has car key insurance coverage change into essential..?
With developments in expertise, a number of high-end vehicles are developing with distant key lock system or a keyless Frequency Operated Button (FOB).
FOB is a keyless distant system primarily based on a brand new expertise which utterly controls the car’s lock and unlock performance via a keyless distant. You don’t require a key to start out the car, the automobile begins with a push-button as a substitute.
Such superior expertise is the rationale why high-end car keys are costly.
So, if your high-end car’s distant key/keyless FOB will get broken/misplaced and you wish to get it changed from the authorised Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) service middle, it can be a pricey affair as not solely is the product is pricey, it additionally requires a extra expert mechanic to switch your car key lockset.
Why substitute of distant key/keyless FOB is pricey?
For security issues, if your remote-key/keyless FOB will get stolen, broken or misplaced then you ought to utterly exchange the remote-lock system of your car as it’s an integral a part of the remote-lock system.
Amit Bhasin, Co-founder, GoMechanic, an vehicle restore and repair answer agency, mentioned, “The remote-key/keyless FOB and remote-lock system work on the principle of radio transmitter because of which you can easily lock and unlock, operate other functions like the closing of windows and roof when remotely locking the car, from a distance.” He mentioned, “The radio transmitter of the car works within a general range of 10-20 meters.”
Every remote-key/keyless FOB has a singular computer-code which is matched with the code current within the remote-lock system of the car. Thus, your car can’t be unlocked by one other remote-key/keyless FOB. If you attempt to open the car manually with a unique key, the remote-lock system will detect the code error and your car alarm will likely be set off.
Some remote-keys/keyless FOBs even have separate buttons to set off the car alarm, unlock the boot of the car, assist your car to maneuver forwards and backwards when parked in a congested space.
Bhasin mentioned, “Many safety and convenience features incorporated in the car can be controlled via remote-key when you are away from your car at a certain distance. However, these features vary across brands and models of cars hence. Due to this the cost of keys vary accordingly.”
So, the extra options are enabled in your remote-lock system and remote-key/keyless FOB, the extra will likely be its cost of substitute.
What car-owners ought to do
If you have a car with remote-key/keyless FOB, taking insurance coverage cowl for your car keys turns into essential. A car key insurance coverage or a key and lock substitute insurance coverage add-on in your motor coverage covers the cost of changing your full key lockset in a scenario the place you have misplaced your car keys or the identical has been stolen or the place the lock has been broken as a result of accident/theft.
Cost of key insurance coverage
What you should know is that the ‘key and lock substitute insurance coverage add-on’ premium cost in a motor insurance coverage coverage is comparatively a lot decrease than the cost of changing of the broken car lockset. Sajja Praveen Chowdary, Head- Motor Insurance, Policybazaar.com, mentioned that in case of theft or lack of computer-coded or encrypted keys, one must get the substitute carried out by an authorised OEM service middle which can cost you Rs 4,000-10,000 or much more relying on the car, make, model and mannequin of the car. “But, the ‘key and lock replacement insurance cover’ will only cost you around an additional premium of Rs 100-300 in your motor insurance policy. The cost of add-on premium varies depending on the car make variant,” he mentioned.
So, paying a small quantity of add-on premium cost in your motor insurance coverage coverage can cowl the large substitute cost of your car keys. However, reimbursement of the substitute cost is topic to the utmost sum insured you have bought beneath the car key safety add-on cowl.
If solely car locking system is broken
What occurs if the secret’s not misplaced however solely the car’s lockset will get broken, will it’s lined beneath insurance coverage?
Rakesh Goyal, Director, Probus Insurance, a Mumbai-based insurtech, mentioned, “The comprehensive insurance policy doesn’t cover the repair cost of the car lockset if the car’s lockset gets damaged due to an unfortunate accident. Most insurers neither cover the repair nor the replacement cost for the lockset damages even if it is caused due to the accidental damages under the motor insurance policy.”
Hence, you should perceive that not insuring your car keys can cost you heavily, that’s, with no key substitute add on cowl.
What if you do not exchange the misplaced key and run the car utilizing the spare
What if you lose considered one of your high-end car keys and due to excessive substitute cost don’t get the lockset changed from the authorised OEM service middle or normal car restore workshop to get again two new car keys? In such a state of affairs if your car will get stolen, you can be in massive bother because the insurer might ask you to indicate the 2 car keys earlier than processing the declare. If you don’t achieve this, your declare can get rejected.
Cost of changing keys from authorised vendor or native storage
When your high-end car key will get broken or stolen, as a result of safety issues, you typically want to switch the whole remote-lock system of your car together with the brand new set of keys, as a result of the keys are literally part of the remote-lock system.
The cost of the brand new remote-lock system together with the brand new set of remote-keys fluctuate if you get it changed from the authorised OEM’s service middle or normal car restore workshop. However, if your high-end car’s keys are lined beneath a motor insurance coverage coverage, then it won’t be an issue. You can get it changed from any workshop and declare a reimbursement from the insurer.
Animesh Das, Head of Product Strategy, Acko General Insurance mentioned that declare settlement course of won’t be completely different whether or not you get your lock set changed from authorised OEM service middle or a normal car restore workshop. “Once your lockset is replaced, you need to submit the bill of the replaced remote-lock system to the insurer for reimbursement claim.” He mentioned, “The settlement will, however, depend on the cost of replacement subject to the maximum sum insured purchased by you under the car key protection cover,” he defined.
He additional mentioned, “There are few companies who may offer you cashless settlement but, in that case, you need to visit the nearest network garage to get your car key lockset replaced.
The following tables (1,2 and 3) show the cost of replacing keys and lockset by authorised OEM cost and at local garage for keyless FOB lockset, remote-key lockset, manual key lockset of five different brands.
1. Keyless FOB lockset* replacement
S.No. Brand Make- (Top variant model) Authorised OEM service center (Keyless Fob) (Rs) Car repair workshop (Keyless Fob) (Rs)
1 Maruti DZire 3,500-4,000 N.A.
2 Volkswagen Polo 12,000-14,000 8,000
3 Hyundai Verna 16,000 8,000
4 Toyota Fortuner 80,000 – 1 lakh (including immobilizer) 8,000
5 Mahindra XUV 500 12,000 8,000
2. Remote-key lockset* replacement
S.No. Brand Make- (Mid variant model) Authorised OEM service center (Remote-key) (Rs) Car repair workshop (Remote-key) (Rs)
1 Maruti DZire 7000-8000 5500-6000
2 Volkswagen Polo 18,000 – 20,000 8000-8500
3 Hyundai Verna 25,000 8500-9000
4 Toyota Fortuner 80,000 – 1 Lakh (including immobilizer) 22,500 – 23,000
5 Mahindra XUV 500 14,000 – 15,000 11,000 – 11,500
3. Manual key lockset* replacement
S.No. Brand Make- (Base variant model) Authorised OEM service center (Manual-key) (Rs) Car repair workshop (Manual-key) (Rs)
1 Maruti DZire 2,500-3,000 2,500-3,000
2 VW Polo 3,000-3,500 3,000-3,500
3 Hyundai Verna 3,000-3,500 3,000-3,500
4 Toyota Fortuner 4,000-4,500 4,000-4,500
5 Mahindra XUV 500 4,000-4,500 4,000-4,500
Note: You need to submit a copy of your RC, Vehicle Booklet, FIR documents at authorised OEM service center in the case of a keyless FOB lockset replacement. Also, these prices are indicative only, they may vary from model to model. The cost of replacement of keys is taken from authorised OEM service and a workshop located in Delhi. *The lockset includes two new keys. Data as on 31-October-2019|
Broadly, these lock systems differ according to the three types of car variants. The top variant of cars come with a keyless FOB remote-lock system. The mid-variant of cars come up with the remote-key lock system and the base variant of cars come up with a manual-key lock system.
Bhasin said, “You should maintain your remote-keys/FOB secure when shopping for a high-end car – particularly high variant car. It poses an extra threat of the car being stolen because the misplaced keyless FOB would nonetheless work except it’s deactivated by particularly reaching out to the producer.” He said, “For luxurious vehicles like BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and so forth., the substitute cost of keyless FOB lock set at authorised OEM typically cost round Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000, and on the normal car restore workshop (positioned in Delhi) it should cost you round Rs 20,000 to 25,000, relying on the car variant.”
Are duplicate car keys an option?
What if you do not want to replace the complete manual-lock/remote-lock system of your car instead you only want a duplicate manual key/remote-key/keyless FOB to be made from car repair workshop?
Akshat Lavania, Co-founder, Carpathy, an automobile repair and service solution firm, said, “You should know that authorised OEM service facilities typically don’t present you with a reproduction key. However, if you need duplicate car keys made, you can get it constituted of a normal car workshop. These car keys should not safe as code of your remote-lock system is thought by the car restore workshop who will not be an authorised individual.” He said, “A car key, nevertheless, can solely be made if you have one other authentic car key current with you.”
You can get duplicate car keys made from a general car repair shop which will cost much less than replacing the complete lock set, except in case of keyless FOB, but you run several risks when you go for this option.
Firstly, the local garage would know the secret code of your new key. Further, your lost keys may also fall into wrong hands and be used to steal your car. Therefore, the safer option is to get the entire lockset replaced at the authorised OEM dealer or standardised multi-brand workshop. As this option is normally expensive, car key insurance for high end cars can be of help.
“For safety functions, we might all the time advocate you change/exchange the whole remote-lock system of your car with a brand new lockset when your car keys are stolen or broken,” Lavania mentioned.
Point to notice:-
If you are getting a reproduction key made, you have to report it to the police and get the copy of FIR (First Information Report). Also, inform the insurer in regards to the lack of key(s).
