Is your safe up to the job?
Retailers that store cash and valuables in security safes should check with their insurance company to ensure the contents are covered by their insurance policy.
Although most safe manufacturers have their products tested against a variety of standards, which usually translates into a ‘rating’ depending on the type of safe, most insurance firms also have their
own requirements before they will insure valuables and cash that are stored in a safe.
Lee Wright, Marketing Director of workplace equipment provider Slingsby , explains: “The main priority for any workplace buying a safe should be to check what rating their insurance company requires. Often insurers will specify a higher standard of security safe for the contents that are being stored in it and this means it is easy for retailers to end up using safes that are not insured without even realising.”
Lee adds: “Safes typically fall into three main categories which all have a different rating system. The most common safes are cash or burglary safes and these come with a ‘cash rating’ which acts as a guide to the maximum amount of money that you can store in the safe overnight.
“Then there are fire protection safes which are designed to protect documents from fire damage. These usually offer a lower level of security than a cash safe and are designed to maintain an internal temperature of below 200 degrees C for a specified amount of time. Finally there are data safes which also come with a ‘time rating’ but these have to maintain a much lower internal temperature than a fire safe as well as protecting against other hazards such as humidity and electromagnetic contamination.”
Finally Lee adds: “In many cases storing valuables in a safe can also reduce your insurance policy so as well as asking your insurer about their rating requirements, it’s also worth checking whether upgrading to a higher rating will reduce your premium. If this is the case, a safe can actually pay for itself after just a few years.”
