Safe deposit boxes are a great way to store your personal items and valuable belongings in a safe and secured place, giving their renters a peace of mind. Safe deposit boxes have been around for nearly 160 years and have been used by people all over the world to safeguard valuable contents.
Important documents and other belongings such as contracts, business papers, stock and bond certificates, family heirlooms, collectibles are items usually stored in the box. A safe deposit box comes in a variety of sizes which can be rented from months to years and is often kept in vaults in banks, institutions or credit unions. It is the facility’s job and priority to keep these safe deposit boxes safe and ensure protection against environmental factors and burglary.
Safe deposit boxes are generally safer than most people’s homes as they are located in a secure area that is more resistant in floods, fire, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. They also have more security than the average home when it comes to burglary.
Here are some safety features of a safe deposit facility and also extra safety measures you can undertake and follow before storing your items on a safe deposit to guarantee your items’ utmost protection.
Safety Features of a Safe Deposit Box Facility
Safe deposit facilities have numerous safety precautions that they implement to protect the safe deposit boxes of their customers. Safe deposit facilities are designed to protect and withstand environmental factors such flood, fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Safe Deposit Center, for example, is literally a vault built into the side of mountain. Safety deposit facilities protect your valuables with secured box containers, advanced alarm systems, high-security locks, steel-barred concrete walls, video cameras, or a 24/7 security presence, just to name a few.
Most facilities give you a key to access your box and another key to be held by an employee. To be able to access the box, they require that both keys must be used to be able to open the box. For a facility which has a keyless system, you will have to scan your finger or your hand to gain access to the box. Customers are required to provide an identification and your key to access the safe deposit box.
You can opt to choose to lease a safe deposit box individually or have a co-lessor that would have equal access and rights to the box. Anyone who will be accessing the box on your behalf would only be accepted if the box owner approved that person in advance and must fill paperwork for that person to gain access on behalf of the owner.
Most safe deposit facilities have strict procedures for allowing access to a safe deposit box, and most facilities require customers detailed information before you can even rent a safe deposit box. At Safe Deposit Center, we allow you to remain as anonymous as you wish to be.
Safety Measure Guidelines
Despite the numerous safety features of a safe deposit facility, there are additional security measures you may take to further safeguard your items while in storage. Here are some tips and guidelines you can do when storing your items on a safe deposit box.
Add Password Protection to Flash Drives
Before storing your flash drives with important data, you should add password protection. Also consider having a backup file on another flash drive and store it in a different place than your safe deposit box.
Insure the Contents
One of the important things to consider and do is to insure all of the items that you will be storing in your safe deposit box. The contents you store inside a safety deposit box is not insured by the government or the bank, unless stated on the bank contract and agreement.
It is the responsibility of the owner to insure their own items and contents stored in a safe deposit box and keep accurate inventory of the items stored. Get your own insurance coverage from your homeowner’s insurance or other private insurance companies.
Keep a Back-up Option
Copy, scan and keep multiple copies of important documents you want to store in your safe deposit box. Keep your items safe by having a copy and doing an inventory list of all items that you will be storing. Have pictures and appraisal of all your personal and valuable properties to be stored.
Examine the Facility
Before deciding on which bank or safe deposit facility you will rent a safe deposit box with, do your research on the company, understand their policies, coverage limits and contract before deciding to store with them.
Ask questions and talk to the facility manager about their safety measures. Take a tour of the facility to get a feel on how safe and secure the place is and check if the safe deposit boxes are located in a secure area of the facility.
Check Your State Laws
Some state laws allow the bank or the safe deposit facility to drill and open the box and take the contents that have been delinquent for a specific period of time. Make sure to always be up to date with your rental dues and term period to avoid these instances. Check your safe deposit box at least once a year and keep a photograph of its contents.
If you are looking for a secure place to store your hard drives or other valuables, Safe Deposit Center can help. At Safe Deposit Center, we offer a variety of safe deposit box sizes as well as open vault storage to accommodate your secure storage needs. For more information about our secure, private storage facility please visit https://safedepositcenterwa.com/.