Despite the fact that our homes and contents are our biggest financial assets, spare sets of keys could still be residing with exes, cleaners, builders or even previous tenants. Over a million British householders admit to having forgotten to retrieve spare sets of keys or, just as worryingly, say they can’t remember if they have retrieved them or not.
Indeed there are some half a million or more people that admit to not even knowing the precise number of spare sets of keys that exist for their property. New research from Sainsbury’s Home Insurance estimates that there could be over 100 million sets of spare keys for British homes in circulation.
The findings indicate that the average British household has four spare sets of keys. The main holders of these spare sets of keys are children including those that have flown the nest (27%), followed by another non-resident family member such as parent (25%) and also neighbours (11%).
Although it’s sensible and often necessary to leave a spare set of keys with a trusted person to gain access to your property, it’s concerning to see just how many homeowners have lost track of who could have access to their home.
If you don’t take reasonable care of your property, including keys, you could potentially invalidate your insurance. If you have any concerns as to the whereabouts of a set of household keys, then the safest measure is always to have your locks changed.
Who's got your keys?
|
Spare key holder
|
Percentage
of total no. of spare sets |
Estimated
number of spare sets |
|
Children (of household)
|
26.9%
|
27.28m
|
|
Other family (not household)
|
25.2%
|
25.49m
|
|
Next-door neighbours
|
10.6%
|
10.72m
|
|
Ex-spouse/partner
|
10.3%
|
10.45m
|
|
Friends
|
8.8%
|
8.91m
|
|
Boyfriend /girlfriend (non-owner)
|
3.6%
|
3.62m
|
|
Cleaner
|
3.2%
|
3.26m
|
|
Home help/care assistant
|
2.1%
|
2.16m
|
|
Lodger
|
2.1%
|
2.09m
|
|
Builders/tradesmen
|
1.6%
|
1.62m
|
|
Window cleaner
|
1.4%
|
1.43m
|
|
Estate agents
|
1.3%
|
1.35m
|
|
Other
|
2.8%
|
2.87m
|
|
Total
|
|
101.2m
|
