The Risk of Flooding - Do I Need a Waterproof Safe?
What are the biggest risk factors you need to think about when choosing a safe? Break ins / burglary? Fire damage?
What about flooding?
According to the UK insurance industry, your home or business is between 5 and 10 times more likely to suffer damage as a result of flooding than it is from fire.
Despite this, the vast majority of safes on the market today offer very limited (if any) protection from water ingress. Should your home or business flood, and this water reaches your safe -your valuables, documents and cash are at real risk!
In this post, we look at the risk of flooding in further detail, and examine what you can do to protect your valuables.
Measuring the risk – flooding and water damage
There are lots of factors that impact on whether flooding is a significant risk for you – including location and age of property, and where your safe is located in the property.
Essentially, this risk falls into two categories.
Natural flooding
If you live in an area that’s prone to flooding, the risk goes up significantly! To see whether your home or business premises is at risk from natural flooding, take a look at this government flood map - https://flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/.
As the climate changes, we’re seeing an increasing number of extreme weather events in the UK, with the risk of flooding increasing every year.
At Safe & Vault company, we know this all too well – our showroom is in Kirkstall, and fell victim to the Boxing Day 2015 floods, when flash flooding caused by Storm Eva caused damage to more than 3,300 properties in Leeds.
Accidental water damage
Even if your home or business is located at the top of a hill – miles away from the nearest body of water, you’re still more likely to suffer damage as a result of water than fire.
Accidents, wear and tear, leaky pipes, burst water mains and blocked drains are all leading causes of flood damage in UK homes and businesses – and can be just as damaging as natural flooding.
Safes and waterproofing – water resistance explained
Safes come with a dedicated water resistance rating.
Just as with fire ratings for safes, these are measured in time: i.e. the amount of time the safe can be submerged in water before the water will get in.
The vast majority of safes available on the market don’t come with any water rating. If these safes are submerged in water – the water will leak in immediately, damaging the contents inside.
At the other end of the scale, ‘waterproof’ safes will protect the contents for up to 24 hours.
It’s important to remember that no safe is 100% water proof – but that isn’t the goal. The idea is to protect the contents long enough for you to safely remove it from the flood water.
Mitigating the risk - Do you need a waterproof safe?
Whether or not you need a waterproof safe will depend on a few different factors:
- The location of your home/premises
- Insurance requirements - your insurance may demand it if you’re in an area at high risk of flooding
- Where your safe is located – upstairs, wall mounted safes are at significantly lower risk than those installed on the ground floor or in the basement!
- What you are storing inside
For home customers worried about their passports getting wet, a ziplock bag inside an ordinary safe may be sufficient. For a business customer looking for an effective way to protect large quantities of cash and high value documents, it’s unlikely to be enough!
Ultimately, it’s better to be safe than sorry, and if you are worried about the risk of flooding, a safe with a high water resistance rating is the best way to go.
Water resistant safes from Safe & Vault Company
At Safe & Vault Company, we offer safes in a range of water resistance ratings, up to 24 hours – like the FS1290 Phoenix Titan Aqua range.
An ultra-modern and compact range of safes that are water-resistant for 24 hours, with 1-hour fire protection, the Phoenix Titan Aqua is designed to protect documents, digital media and valuables from fire, water and theft, and is ideal for residential and business use.
Whatever your requirements, you can come to us secure in the knowledge that you’re in safe hands! For further information, browse through our safes online, visit our Leeds Showroom, or get in touch with our team today on 0113 274 4627 or by email at [email protected].
Safe and Vault Company will be amongst the scores of Made in Yorkshire members exhibiting at this year's MIY exhibition, which takes place at the Centenary Pavilion in Leeds on May 23. To join them or to register for tickets for the event click on the banner below; and don't forget to visit our new website - www.madeinyorkshireexpo.co.uk
