Is It Safe?

[Ikemi]

After reading this ...

Stuart said:

My safe at home is well hidden, but all a passing burglar would need to do is open up a cupboard in our living room to know that *somewhere* in the house is all the good stuff.

... I remembered that several members on here have safes to keep their watches secure in their homes. Purely out of interest, at what point do you decide it is time to buy a safe? Do you not have your collection covered under home insurance, or is the safe just a way of keeping valuables out of sight? And by safe, are we talking about low end safes with keycodes or proper ones ones bolted to the floor?

I'm not sure my girlfriend would approve of the latter in our flat

[RobM83]

I think the point it's time to buy one, is when you start asking yourself if you need one. That probably sounds daft, but if you're wondering if your watches are secure and protected enough, there aren't many better ways of providing that protection.

Insurance comes in when it's too late.

If you have watches that can easily be bought again, then relying on insurance is fair enough. But if you have some rare items in your collection that you would struggle to find again, a safe could be a very good investment. As would declared and agreed values with your insurance company

Oh, with regards to bolted down safes, if you are lucky enough to have a concrete floor it's not quite as scary as it might sound.

Edited by RobM83 on Sunday 23 January 23:15

[pokethepope]

I don't actually know this, but if you have a number of valuabe watches/jewellery, would a proper safe not reduce your insurance, and therefore go some way to paying for itself while giving you peace of mind?

[al1991]

Looking at recent incidents to do with car thefts though, isn't there a good chance they'll just hold a knife to your throat and tell you to give them the combination?

[Dominic H]

pokethepope said:

I don't actually know this, but if you have a number of valuabe watches/jewellery, would a proper safe not reduce your insurance, and therefore go some way to paying for itself while giving you peace of mind?

Yep, and certain insurance policies will insist on a certain type/spec of safe.

This is a good selection of different types of safe.

http://www.saundersonsecurity.co.uk/acatalog/Safes...

al1991 said:

Looking at recent incidents to do with car thefts though, isn't there a good chance they'll just hold a knife to your throat and tell you to give them the combination?

Quite probably, in which case you'd choose to open the safe. But in the case of a burglary where no one is in, the b*stards won't get your valuables.
A safe is also the perfect place to keep documents, passports etc.

[DH01]

Just as important as the theft aspect is that a good safe will be fireproof ?

[Adrian W]

Trouble is they're so bloody heavy, I have been offered safes for nothing in the past, but they are impossible to move. I have a small one that is a bit of a pain to use.

[medieval]

Just as a very rough guide most insurers use a simple rule for cash/jwellery rating in the domestic home.

Ten times the cash rating will state the upper limit for jewellery security so for example a Euro group 0 rated safe for cash £6000 will have a limit of £60,000 for jewllery but please do check with your insurer for confirmation.

Safes will minimise the risk of items being lifted if you are not at home but the trend for jewellery thefts at the currnet time is one of duress attacks or aggravated burglaries - the weakest link in any security is the person and this is now proving to be the target with some very high profile theft attacks being suffered in recent months.

Insurers will generally advise you if you need a safe for the theft cover as the sum insured will reach a trigger point and always bolt them to the floor or wall as under one ton in weight can be physically moved.

Regards all