A home safe lets you keep your important information and small valuables in one convenient, private, burglar-proof location. Spend more for a fire- and water-resistant safe, and you can keep these items secure in most catastrophic events.
A break-in, a flood or a house fire can cause you to lose things that can’t be easily replaced: private/personal data, documents, electronics, heirlooms and keepsakes. With hurricane and wildfire season in play, this is a great time to move these nine things into a home safe and out of your safety deposit box, wallet and drawers.
Why a home safe and not a safe deposit box at a bank?
There are many reasons why a fireproof safe at home is preferable to a bank box. It's not a good idea to store original copies of documents you may require immediate access to, such as passports, in a safe deposit box. Bank safe deposit boxes are only accessible during branch operating hours and are typically sealed when the bank receives a death notice. To open a sealed safe deposit box, estate representatives must provide court papers to the bank.
FDIC insurance does not cover cash in a safe deposit box. The FDIC only insures the deposits in bank accounts, but not the contents of their safe deposit boxes.
Tip: Items in your home are typically covered by your renter or homeowners insurance policy, and the contents of a bank safe deposit box are rarely covered.
Buying a fireproof safe
Some safes are meant only to protect from fire, while others are built specifically for burglary and theft protection. When people think of safes, they usually think of burglary protection, but you're statistically more likely to experience a damaging fire than theft.
A burglary safe offers little protection against fire and fire safes pose fewer challenges to a safecracker. If you require protection against both fire and theft, you need a composite safe designed to meet both threats. To ensure a home safe meets both demands, it must undergo rigorous testing. Look for UL and ETL certifications when shopping for a safe. UL stands for Underwriters Laboratories and they test for level of fire protection and ETL verification for specific claims, like water testing.
Different levels of protection with fire-resistant safes. A typical house fire can reach temperatures of 1100 to 1600 degrees; However, temperatures vary significantly depending on the room of origin and whether flashover conditions have been reached. The different levels of protection of a safe are determined by how long the temperature inside the safe stays below 350° F. Because paper and money begin to char at approximately 387 degrees and auto-ignite at 451 degrees (thanks Ray Bradbury), so ideally a fire safe should maintain a temperature at or under 350 degrees.
Live in an area prone to wildfires? You should take extra precautions. After the 2017 Santa Rosa, California fires, residents discovered that so-called "fireproof" safes did not withstand such high temperatures. One option is to purchase a mobile fireproof safe that you can take with you, particularly as you may need your documents and related items after you evacuate your home. Keep digital documents and backups in the cloud whenever possible.
Locks. The three most common locks on safes are digital, key locks, and combination dials. If your family decides to buy a safe with a key lock, be very careful about where you decide to hide the key. Make sure everyone in the family knows where the key is, or make copies for each family member. If your home safe relies on digital or combination locks, you should change the combination on the lock occasionally for added security.
Placement. If you are most concerned about the risk of theft, a bolt-down safe may be a cost-effective choice, especially if you are pouring a new cement floor or building your home. The .92 cubic feet safe by Honeywell is fire resistant and waterproof with a bolt-down system built directly into the bottom, listing for under $200.
Floor safes are installed in concrete floors. When properly installed, it takes great effort to lift out, pry out, or otherwise tamper with the safe. When installing your safe, carefully follow instructions for your model to ensure you don’t damage it or invalidate important protective features of your safe.
Floor safes are great for burglar protection but offer limited protection against fire and water. Five sides of the safe are surrounded by concrete, preventing much of the heat from getting inside. However, the safe's door is exposed and has no fire material to protect it. And some reports show that water may condense in these safes. One way to improve your floor safe's performance is to use fire- and water-resistant bags to store important items you want to keep protected from a fire or flood.
Tip: A Waterproof fire safe should be opened and aired out for at least 30 minutes every week to prevent any build-up of moisture inside. It is also recommended to occasionally let the safe breathe for longer periods. This will balance the humidity difference inside and outside and allow any excess moisture trapped inside to escape.
What should you store in a fireproof safe?
This is just a selection of the precious objects and important documents that most people have lying around the house but could cost a lot of time and money to replace. Installing a fireproof, waterproof safe now might prove more cost-effective than replacing all these items (and dealing with the hassle of insurance companies).
1. Safety deposit box keys
If you store valuables in a bank safe deposit box, you'll want to make sure you keep the keys to it in a secure place.
Tip: Keep copies of car and house keys. They aren’t expensive to replace (unless you lose your last copy, of course) but in the wrong hands, they provide easy access to your home, car, garage and shed.
2. Cash and credit cards
The most obvious item to keep in a safe, after safe deposit box keys, is cash. Even if you only keep small amounts around the house for emergencies, it’s better off somewhere protected instead of in a sock drawer.
Infrequently used debit cards, credit cards and key cards — these little bits of plastic melt easily. Carry only the cards you use; you can't lose what you don't have in your purse or wallet.
3. Social Security cards, passports and original birth certificates
Covid shutdowns keep many people from accessing important identifying documents, such as passports and birth certificates. While they certainly need to be secured, they shouldn't be anywhere you can't access them readily. After all, these documents can be a hassle and time-consuming to replace.
Passports and original birth certificates are essential to proving your identity, birth date and citizenship and can also stand in for all ID purposes if your wallet or purse is stolen or lost. Your Social Security card is vital to establish eligibility for benefits.
Tip: When traveling abroad, experts advise to carry a photocopy of your passport and leave the original in a hotel safe.
4. Everyday jewelry
Jewelry you wear regularly doesn’t belong in a safe deposit box, which can only be accessed during a bank’s business hours. Keep everyday jewelry secure at home in a safe.
However, the expensive heirloom jewelry that you were gifted or inherited but rarely wear should stay in your safe deposit box until a special occasion arises and you can pick it up, wear it for the big event, and put it back safely.
Tip: Don't store pearls in a safe or safety deposit box for long periods. Safety deposit boxes are humidity-controlled to protect paper. Pearls need to draw moisture from the air to maintain their beauty. The arid conditions may dry out your pearls and cause them to develop small fractures in the surface.
5. Copies of your important legal documents
It's critical to have access to key legal documents since safe deposit boxes are typically sealed upon notification of the box owner's death. Access to these important documents can help ensure the protection they were created to provide. Remember to include documents related to you and your family, as well as any documents where you may be designated a health care proxy or attorney-in-fact. Keep original records in a safe deposit box or at some other secure location.
Some of the copies of important documents you store in your home safe should include powers of attorney, wills, living wills and health care proxies.
Tip: Many states have a system that allows you to file your will with the probate court for safekeeping.
6. Financial documents
If there were ever a time when you needed to access your funds, immediately after a home destruction would be it. Papers related to investments, retirement plans, bank accounts, and associated contact information can help you access the funds you need, when you need them.
It's important to keep tabs on your finances and protect your credit. Keep information about your outstanding debts, due dates and contact information in the event you're displaced or evacuated by a weather event.
Tip: Create a financial plan for natural disasters. You'll have your important financial documents safeguarded and ready to go in case you need to leave your home in a hurry.
7. Property insurance policies and agent contact information
When your home is damaged by a fire, tornado, flood, or hurricane, one of the very first things you’ll have to deal with is insurance. You'll also need to know how to file a claim.
If you live in an area commonly hit by tornadoes, hurricanes or floods, your local bank could be destroyed or severely damaged by the same elements that impacted your home. That's why it's important to have copies of this documentation handy.
Hopefully, the day will never come when you have to meet with an insurance adjuster. But have these documents in hand just in case.
- Property deeds and mortgage documents.
- Homeowners insurance with policy number.
- Receipts from when you bought the damaged or destroyed items, if you have them. Search your purchase history of items purchased online and print out invoices.
- Gather any photos or videos of your home and property before they were damaged or destroyed.
- Vehicle titles, registration and loan paperwork.
Tip: After a disaster strikes, it’s important to get a good replacement cost estimate ASAP. Plan and get an estimate from a contractor in advance — before any potential loss may occur and you will be ahead. You can also use the estimate to ensure you have adequate insurance coverage.
8. CDs, flash drive, or an external hard drive containing digital copies of important documents
In the event of a storm warning or evacuation notice, documents should be securely stored in a fireproof home safe or in a safe deposit box. Consider a device that will withstand extreme weather such as the Corsair 256GB Survivor Stealth flash drive. It is made of anodized, aircraft-grade aluminum housing, is waterproof to 200 meters, vibration-resistant and shock-resistant.
But what happens if your documents become damaged during an emergency or you don’t have enough time to recover them before evacuation? Consider document digitization as your answer to rebuilding your life and home after the worst occurs.
Having copies of important documents, such as property deeds, vehicle titles, car insurance, home insurance and an inventory of the contents of your home, can help you expedite filing insurance and disaster assistance claims.
Tip: Regularly update your inventory, especially after making major purchases or receiving expensive gifts.
9. Medical information
Prepare a list of family doctors, prescription medications with dosages and contact information for all pharmacies you use. You may need these to get new medication supplies you use regularly or in emergencies.
Tip: Prescription drugs like painkillers can be valuable and a target for thieves. Lock those drugs up!
