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Millions
of Americans rent a safe deposit box from their bank. Before
renting, you need to make sure you understand how it works.
Most people rent a safe deposit box to store important and
valuable items that would be difficult, if not impossible,
to replace. The box offers privacy and security for these
items rather than keeping them in your home where they are
prone to burglary, fire and water damage.
What should go in a safe deposit box?
Experts suggest you keep family records, such as birth, marriage
and death certificates, originals of insurance policies, deeds,
titles, stocks and bonds in the box. You might want to include
other valuables such as expensive jewelry, rare collectibles
and medals. Also consider videotaping or taking photos of
the contents of your home and keeping them in the safe deposit
box should you need to file an insurance claim.
What should not go in a safe deposit box?
There are some items that you may need to access quickly during
an emergency situation that you would not want in your safe
deposit box, in the event you need these items on a weekend
or holiday when the bank is closed or the bank itself is closed
due to an emergency. These items might include your “power
of attorney”, passports, medical directives, and funeral or
burial instructions. You might want to keep copies of these
items in the box and give the originals to your attorney or
a close family member or friend.
Who has access to your box?
Only you, unless you have a co-renter who might include a
spouse, child, or close friend Be sure to check state law
governing access to safe deposit boxes. To access your box,
it takes two keys—yours and the bank’s. The bank doesn’t keep
a copy of your key, so if it is lost or stolen, it will cost
you several hundred dollars to drill the box open.
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Additionally, unless
you have a co-renter or you appoint a “deputy” or “agent”
in the presence of a bank employee, you cannot just give your
key to a friend or family member and ask them to open the
box. The bank will grant access to the box to only valid authorized
users.
US banks take every precaution
to protect the contents of safe deposit boxes and they are
manufactured to be highly resistant to fire, water, flood,
earthquakes, hurricanes and other types of disasters. They
also utilize highly sophisticated alarms, heat and motion
detectors, locks and video cameras. But nothing is 100 percent
guaranteed and the contents of your safe deposit box are not
protected by federal bank insurance, like your monetary bank
deposits. In addition to keeping a list of the contents in
the box, you might also consider storing items in Ziploc bags
for added protection. Sadly, some lessons were learned in
the flooding subsequent to Hurricane Katrina.
You can also check with your insurance agent to see if you
can add a “personal articles floater” to your policy to cover
replacing valuable jewelry or other tangible items in the
unlikely event of loss or damage.
CONSUMER TIPS is provided as a public
service by the Missouri Independent Bankers Association
AND
Community Bank of the Ozarks
P.O. Box 43
Sunrise Beach, MO 65079
(573) 374-5245
1-800-927-4314
www.cbobanker.com
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