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Insuring your home valuables against theft is normal, and any home-owner knows that good home insurance will be there for them in the event of a burglary. But some valuables are irreplaceable and hold huge sentimental value. Insuring them is one thing, but keeping them far outweighs any financial recompense you may get.
A home safe will keep your special valuables out of sight, and is much more secure than your top drawer! Many insurance companies will also insist on a home safe, especially when your valuables are over the £50,000 mark. So how do you choose the right safe for you?
Things to consider when buying a home safe
Cash rating
Safes are bought and listed by ‘cash rating’. Even if you don’t plan to store actual cash in your safe, this is the category you need to look at. Safe cash ratings start from £1,000 cash all the way up to £250,000 cash. The jewellery cover (or valuables) is always ten times the cash rating. So, a £1,000 cash rated safe will cover £10,000 worth of jewellery or valuables.
Size
It sounds obvious, but ensuring your safe’s size suits your needs is very important. Make sure your safe is large or small enough to fit the bill. Remember that safes can have a thick wall (especially higher cash rated ones) so ensure the interior dimensions are enough for you.
If you’re placing the safe in a cupboard or small space check that the exterior dimensions are suitable and also remember that you have to open the door. (You’d be surprised at the number of people who forget this!) Allow for the width dimension of the safe as a guide for door swing in front of your safe’s position. Also beware of safes with exterior hinges as this will change things in a small space. Most safe suppliers list safes with both their interior and exterior dimensions.
Weight
This is especially important if you plan to house your safe upstairs. Consider what floor it will be on, bearing in mind delivery and stairs. Often the expensive part of a safe is the delivery cost because they’re designed to be hard to move. New safes are made of lighter materials but this also means that they are easier for a thief to take way! It’s a balancing act.
Installation
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Insurance companies will insist a safe is installed correctly. Most safes come with installation included, but the smaller safes will just come with a standard fitting kit. When you consider some small home safe are only as heavy as a small TV, you’ll want to make sure burglars can’t lift and shift it with all your valuables inside.
Position
Position your safe out of sight and out of mind. Don’t be fooled into having your safe on show for convenience; this is only more convenient for a would-be thief! Once your safe is in position, secure it into place or get a professional installer to do it for you!
Don’t give up your home valuables too easily – keep them safe!
This article was written by All About Safes – the UK’s number one safe experts. All About Safes is a family-owned and run safe specialist based in Coventry, UK.
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