How to Choose a Safe – Top 7 Questions to Ask
When it comes to protecting cash, documents and valuables, a safe makes all the difference – from deterring thieves and satisfying insurance requirements, to providing protection from floods and fire damage.
With thousands of models available in a huge range of sizes, styles and security ratings – finding the right safe for your home or business can be a real challenge.
Ensure you make the right choice with help from this quick guide - here are the top 7 things you need to consider before making a purchase.
- Which safe do I need for my insurance?
This one is really important.
One of the key drivers in making a safe purchase for your home or business is to satisfy your insurance requirements. Choose the wrong safe, and the insurance company may not pay out if you need to make a claim.
All security safes come with an insurance rating, from £1,000 to £100,000 or more. This denotes both the level of safe security, and the maximum value of cash you can store inside it for insurance purposes. The higher the insurance rating, the more secure the safe is.
For insurance purposes, you can store valuables up to ten times the value of the cash rating. For instance, if your safe has a cash rating of £1,000 – you can store up to £10,000 in valuables inside.
When choosing a safe, it’s worth thinking about your future needs. Choosing a safe with a higher insurance rating than the value of the contents gives you some leeway, and helps to ensure you’re always covered if you need to make a claim.
- Do I need a safe for money, papers or valuables?
One of the first things you are going to need to consider is what you’re storing in your safe – is it money, jewellery, electronics, valuables or papers? You’ll also want to think about the quantity of items you’re storing.
These factors will impact on the kind of safe you need in terms of size, fire rating, cash/valuables limit and whether or not it needs to be flood/fireproof.
It’s easy to underestimate your requirements in terms of size, so think carefully about the dimensions of the largest item you need to store inside.
- How much do I want to spend on my safe?
Safes range massively in value – from £50 for low security protection, to thousands of pounds for high security theft protection safes. How much you need to spend on your safe depends on a few different factors, including:
- What you are storing inside
- Whether it’s for your home or business
- The cash/valuables limit for insurance purposes
- Whether it needs to be flood or fireproof (and to what degree)
- How big it needs to be
Ultimately, you get what you pay for, and increased levels of security usually mean higher prices. A cheap, entry level safe will never be as secure as a more advanced model.
- Do I need my safe installed?
The answer is most definitely yes, especially if the safe weighs less than 1000kg! The vast majority of insurance providers will insist that your safe is professionally fitted to a solid wall or floor.
Unsecured safes are inherently vulnerable. The first action any would-be thief is going to take is to try and steal the safe itself – so they can break into it off-site, at their leisure. Permanently securing your safe to a solid wall or floor greatly enhances the protection it offers.
Although you may be able to install the safe yourself, the safest option is to have the work completed by an experienced professional.
- Where should I position my safe?
There is no single ‘best place’ for a safe – it depends on a range of factors, including:
- What you’re storing inside
- How often you need to access the contents
- How big the safe is
- How heavy the safe is (heavier safes will need to be installed on the ground floor)
The single most important factor here is making sure your safe is properly secured to a solid wall or floor.
- Which is the best kind of safe for me – key locking, or electronic?
When it comes to the safe locking mechanism, you’ve got a few options.
These are:
- Key locking
- Mechanical combinations
- Electronic key pads
- Biometric
All have their benefits and downsides.
Whilst simple key locking and mechanical combination safes tend to be more cost-effective, electronic and biometric locking mechanisms provide significantly enhanced security. Another downside with key locking options is key management – and the associated risks of losing a key or having it stolen.
- What additional features should I look for in a safe?
All safes are different, and there are a wide range of useful additional features and functionality you can look for. These include:
- Water resistance – keeping the contents dry in cases of flooding.
- Fire resistance – protecting the contents from fire damage.
- Motorised boltwork – where the door opens when you unlock, without having to turn a handle
- Emergency keys – basic safes often come with emergency keys, which are useful if you ever forget your code, or the lock malfunctions.
- Dual locking – some safes feature two main locks that can both be used to gain entry to the safe.
- Movement alarms – that sound as soon as a would be thief tries to tamper with the safe.
- Internal lights – so you can always find what you’re looking for inside.
- Shelving, drawers and pockets – helping you to keep things organised inside.
- Additional lockable compartments – providing an extra layer of security for high value items.
- Linings – soft linings help to protect valuables and jewellery from scratches and damage.
Expert Guidance from Safe & Vault Company
Need a helping hand finding the perfect safe for your home and business?
You can depend on Safe & Vault.
We supply, install and service hundreds of safes to customers around the UK and overseas. All our safes tested and graded to the latest EN1143-1 standards – with products suitable for every home and business. Our team has more than 50 years’ experience in the security sector, and we’re trusted by banks, government departments, police forces, alarm companies and ATM providers across the country and beyond.
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].