What insurance does a locksmith need?
There's no one-size answer. The right mix depends on how you work, who you work for, and what your contracts ask for. These are the coverages a locksmith typically looks at first:
General liability
Covers accidental damage to doors, safes, and vehicles, plus claims that a lock or rekey job left a property exposed, with the $1,000,000 per-occurrence limit commercial clients typically request.
Business property
Key-cutting equipment, lock inventory, and specialty tools are core to the business, and this is designed to help cover them against theft and damage.
Commercial auto
A service vehicle stocked with tools and hardware used to reach calls is a work vehicle, and personal auto policies typically exclude that use.
Coverage always depends on your specific situation. The fastest way to see what fits is to get a quote and review your options.
Taking on general repair work alongside locksmith calls? See our guide to handyman insurance.
What does it protect against?
The risks that matter aren't abstract. They're the everyday accidents of the work. A few scenarios that turn into real claims:
A pick or drill damages the door or frame
A stuck lock takes more force than expected, and the drill slips and gouges the door face or cracks the frame. Accidental damage to the property you're working on is a routine general liability claim in this trade.
A safe won't reopen after a service call
A locksmith called to service a stuck safe leaves it unable to open at all, locking the owner out of the contents. The cost to have the safe professionally reopened, and any damage from doing so, is the kind of claim this coverage is built to help cover.
A rekey doesn't hold and the property is broken into
A commercial rekey job is finished, but a cylinder wasn't seated correctly and the building is broken into that week. When a client alleges your work left them exposed, the resulting claim is exactly what general liability is designed to help address.
A vehicle lockout scratches the paint
A car lockout call goes wrong and a slim jim or wedge tool leaves a scratch on the door panel. Damage to a client's vehicle during a lockout service is a routine third-party property damage claim.
Certificates of insurance
Locksmiths get asked for a certificate of insurance mainly by property managers and commercial clients. Apartment communities and office buildings typically require proof of general liability before adding a locksmith to their approved vendor list, and larger commercial rekey jobs often ask for the same up front. Olli's general liability policies include instant certificates, so a new vendor application doesn't stall on paperwork.
New to certificates? Start with our guide to the certificate of insurance: what's on one, who asks for it, and how to provide yours.