Rather than putting your valuable contents at risk in a standard safety deposit box, let’s discuss a few alternative solutions. Fire-Proof Safety Deposit Box Alternatives I recommend making a list of all the items you plan on keeping in your safety deposit box, and then consider whether an alternative makes more sense. You also won’t be able to access your passport if the bank is closed and a family emergency means you need to hop on an airplane.
If the bank catches fire and your safety deposit box burns down, replacing items like your passport, living will, or social security card is time-consuming and inconvenient. However, the best storage method for important documents is to use a digital storage platform like Trustworthy, which I discuss in detail below. Furthermore, rather than keeping your important physical documents in a safety deposit box, it’s better to store them in your home in a fireproof safe. Burglars won’t be able to access it, and you can withdraw it from an ATM whenever you need it. It’s much more optimal to store cash inside of a bank account. Worst of all, the FDIC does not insure the contents of a safety deposit box. In the event of a fire, your cash can potentially catch fire and get destroyed. Cash is not insured, and you may need to access important documents like your passport when the bank isn’t open.Īlthough it’s common for individuals to store cash in a safety deposit box, I don’t recommend doing so. There are a few items that should not be kept in a safety deposit box, which include cash, passports, uninsured valuables, living wills, and medical records. Items You Should NOT Store In A Safety Deposit Box In Case Of A Fire If you want to insure the contents of your safety deposit box, I recommend purchasing a rider to your homeowner's insurance policy to cover your valuables. FDIC insurance only covers deposit accounts such as checkings and savings accounts. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) does not insure the contents of a safety deposit box. “ Our safety deposit boxes are not fire proof and the contents are not insured by the bank or the FDIC.” You need to ask your bank for its policies if your safety deposit box does burn down.Īfter speaking with a U.S. The bank attendant left you in the vault by yourself.īecause of this, the bank doesn’t know what items you placed in the safe deposit box and, therefore, cannot insure you.Įach bank is unique and has different protocols. When you deposited the cash inside the safety deposit box, nobody saw what you placed into the box except for you. Unless you purchased a separate insurance policy for your safety deposit box’s contents from a third-party agency, you likely wouldn’t get reimbursed.įor example, let’s say you had $100,000 worth of cash in a safety deposit box, and the bank burned down along with your safe deposit box. What Happens If Your Safety Deposit Box Gets Destroyed In A Fire?īanks do not insure the contents of the safety deposit boxes because only the owner of the box knows what’s inside. So the answer is a resounding NO, your safety deposit box is not safe during a fire. “ The safety deposit boxes are kept in our vault so they are protected but this doesn’t ensure that they are fire proof.”Įven if the vault wasn’t destroyed, all the crucial documents in your safety deposit box would turn to ashes if the temperature gets high enough. I spoke with a Chase Bank branch representative, she said: In the event of a major fire, the fire can seep into the bank fault and destroy your safety deposit box. The majority of safety deposit boxes are kept in bank vaults, which are fire resistant to a certain degree. Is Your Safety Deposit Box Safe During A Fire?
Items you shouldn’t keep in your safety deposit box What happens if your safety deposit box gets burned in a fire I’ll explain all of this and much more so that you can make the right decision for storing your valuable items. Now that we understand that safe deposit boxes aren’t fireproof, you probably want to learn if your valuables are insured and protected if they get destroyed in a fire. At 1,763 degrees Fahrenheit, jewelry and other metal items will melt. During a fire, if the temperature inside the bank vault rises to 451 degrees Fahrenheit, paper documents will ignite. This means that they are not immune to heat and fire. Although safety deposit boxes are supposed to be 100% secure, there’s always a chance of fires due to electrical wiring problems, lightning strikes, and other unfortunate events.īut will your safety deposit box be safe when a disastrous fire strikes your bank?Ĭontrary to popular belief, safety deposit boxes are not fireproof.
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