What to Store in Your Home Safe

A lot of people assume that the safest place to store valuables is in a bank’s safety deposit box. After all, banks have an effective security and surveillance system.

However, some people are not aware that in some banks, the contents of a safety deposit box are not covered by insurance. On the other hand, if you store your valuables inside your home inside a safe, those may be covered either by a homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy.

The same thing applies to cash stored in safety deposit boxes. Your cash deposits may be insured but your valuables stored in safety deposit boxes, including cash, are not.

Also, there are some valuables, including passports and other documents, that are best stored in a place where you can easily access these. Take note that safety deposit boxes are only accessible during a bank’s operating hours. Should you die, the contents of the safety deposit box will be sealed and can only be opened by family members after court documents have been presented to bank officials.

Certainly, there are items that are best stored in a bank safety deposit box and there are items that you should store in a safe in your home. What are these items that are better stored in a safe?

You will definitely need your property insurance policies stored in a safe in your home. This is because you will need the paperwork should your home become damaged. Make sure that you store your agent’s contact information along with it, especially if you do not know how to file and process a claim.

Passports and original copies of your family’s birth certificates are also best kept in your home. Getting a replacement for these can be a difficult process and you will need these within easy reach if you are planning on traveling with your family.

A lot of people are converting their family albums to a digital format that enables them to avoid some of the hassles associated with keeping physical copies of photos. Sure, you can upload your photos on the cloud, but you may also want to store your digital photos on a hard drive or a CD. These, you should store inside a safe.

If you have safety deposit boxes, you will need to find a secure and safe place for your keys. And what better place to store these in than in a safe inside you home?

If you have been investing, you should keep the paperwork in a secure but accessible location: your home safe. Place these alongside your retirement fund documents and passbooks. You may also want to stash inside your safe some extra cash you can use for emergencies.

The best place to store social security cards is inside a safe in your home. Losing or damaging these cards means a lot of hassle for you because of the tedious process required for replacing these.

All legal documents, including powers of attorneys and wills, are best stored in a safe in your home.

Finally, you may have collectibles like rare coins or jewelry that you want to keep safe but accessible. Instead of putting these into a safety deposit box, put these instead in a safe.