When it involves safeguarding your valuables, a safety deposit box stands out as one of the safest choices accessible. But have you ever thought about how these containers function and why they are deemed so secure? Let’s keep reading to know more about it.
Safety Deposit Boxes – An Introduction
A safe deposit box is a compact, secure storage facility found in a bank or financial institution. It serves to hold precious belongings, significant papers, and heartfelt mementos. These containers are typically constructed from steel and are stored within a highly secured vault. Contrary to a home safe, a safety deposit box provides enhanced security features, including –
- Round-the-clock surveillance
- Fortified vault doors
- Safeguards against natural disasters like fires and floods
What Can be Stored in the Box?
You can keep nearly anything that is precious or hard to replicate. Below are several typical items individuals keep in a safety deposit box provided by Starvault.com.sg:
- Important papers (such as wills, property titles, and birth records)
- Jewelry and inherited treasures
- Uncommon collectibles (such as coins, stamps, or sports memorabilia)
- Storage devices for backup (such as USB drives containing sensitive information)
Nonetheless, you shouldn’t keep items that you might need urgently, such as passports or medical directives, as banks have limited access hours.
How Do These Boxes Work?
When you lease a safe deposit box, the bank provides you with a personal key, and in certain situations, two keys. The bank does not keep a copy of the personal key; rather, it holds a second key that must be used alongside the customer’s personal key to access the safe deposit box.
To enter your box, you show your key and ID. Typically, a bank representative will mark the access card with a time stamp and will ask the customer to sign the card before they can access their safe deposit box. This is to monitor who accessed the safe deposit box and when.
The client will next place their personal key into one of the locks, while the banker will put the financial institution’s key into the other lock. By turning both keys, you will unlock the vault that holds the safe deposit box. Certain financial institutions utilize keyless systems that scan your finger or hand for access instead of relying on a physical key.
An individual can rent safe deposit boxes in their name, or additional names can be included in the lease. A co-lessee of a safe deposit box shall possess a key and have equal rights and access to the box’s contents. When you access a safe deposit box, the lease contract will outline the duration of your access, the rental fee, and what items are permitted or prohibited for storage.
Best Practices for Safety Deposit Boxes
To enhance protection against water damage during a flood, place important documents, photographs, and other sensitive items in a waterproof plastic container or zip-top plastic bag before putting them in your safe deposit box.
Think about insuring valuable items kept in a safe deposit box.
This can frequently be achieved with a floater added to your home insurance policy and might need an evaluation of specific items. Since they could be required rapidly in an emergency and beyond banking hours, medical directives or a living will ought not to be kept in a safe deposit box. Think about utilizing a safe location such as a fire-resistant home safe.
Cash must not be kept in a safe deposit box. It won’t be protected by FDIC insurance as a deposit is, and certain banks clearly prohibit it.
The original copies of your will, power of attorney, and estate instructions should be kept by your attorney or executor. In certain states, banks automatically close the safe deposit box when the owner passes away. This may cause holdups for heirs who might require a court order to open the box for documents contained within that could be necessary to resolve the estate.
It’s a smart move to maintain a current inventory of the items in your safe deposit box at a different location. This approach ensures that if the box suffers any damage, you’ll be aware of what’s missing, allowing you to replace lost documents or file an insurance claim for the valuables that are unaccounted for. It also informs your heirs about the contents of the box if they are unable to access it immediately.
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