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BS 3621 for buildings insurance:
no-one knows – or cares
Do you know whether your door locks meet BS 3621 standards? It’s a difficult
question that can baffle and bemuse anyone without an in-depth knowledge of
security product standards. However, knowing whether your locks are BS 3621
compliant may be the difference between your building insurance covering you,
or not. Karen Hubbard, Product Manager for Mortice Locks at UNION, discusses.
» » HAVE YOU SEEN AVIVA’S
latest home insurance advert? If
you have, then you may feel for
the main character. In a mock
interrogation scene, a man is
being questioned about the locks
fitted to his doors and whether
they meet BS 3621.
BS 3621 is a British Standard
designed to show whether a
lock is of a good, thief-resistant
quality. However, even though the
‘To meet this
standard, a lock
must exceed a
certain level of
performance and
be subjected
to a general
vulnerability
assessment’
homeowner in Aviva’s advert has
lived in his house for seven years,
he’s unable to answer the insurer’s
question. He simply does not know
– would you? Presuming he’s lying,
the interrogator presses further.
Finally, the man cracks: “I don’t
know!” he cries. “Nobody knows!”
The advert is right – for the end
user, questions like these can feel
impossible to answer. Here at
UNION, we understand that you
have a million and one things to
think about, and those probably do
not include BS 3621.
Yet while it might look like
technical jargon, BS 3621 is an
important standard to understand
for homeowners, with the
implications potentially being fairly
big. To meet this standard, a lock
must exceed a certain level of
performance and be subjected to
a general vulnerability assessment.
This assessment allows it to
be Kitemarked by the British
Standards Institution – a highly-
recognisable quality mark showing
it meets optimum standards for
attack resistance, security, quality
and reliability.
Crucially, BS 3621 is the
benchmark for insurance
companies to measure the
robustness of door locks. If you are
burgled and your locks have not
been tested to this standard, you
may not receive your expected
cover upon making a claim. Any
Kitemarked lock will bear the logo,
so with a simple check, you can
ensure you remain protected.
‘If you are burgled
and your locks have
not been tested to
this standard, you
may not receive your
expected cover upon
making a claim. Any
Kitemarked lock will
bear the logo, so
with a simple check,
you can ensure you
remain protected’
At UNION, we ensure all
relevant products meet BS 3621.
So, if you’re as unsure as the
man in Aviva’s advert, contact us
directly for expert advice and up-
to-date information. With UNION’s
door locks, you could answer your
home insurer’s questions with
ease – we know they’re good
enough, and so will you.
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | MAR/APR 2018
Sponsored by Lockex 2018 - Security & Fire Safety