At present the MOD Medal Office will only issue replacement medals to veterans if they were lost through burglary or an insurance loss. They will not issue replacement medals for any other reason, surely as the claimant has to bear the cost of the replacement surely this ruling could be changed.
You may be interested in these active petitions
My issued Northern Ireland GSM was lost / mislaid in a house move some 20+ years ago.
As a veteran I would rather wear my issued GSM rather than a poor copy.