You might automatically think that because your gold, precious metals and family heirlooms are safely locked away in a safe deposit box in a vault somewhere, you can sleep peacefully at night. But wherever you’re stashing your valuables, they are always at greater risk if you do not seek out insurance for them.

Whilst safe deposit boxes are traditionally thought of to be incredibly secure, you simply cannot be complacent regarding insurance. Your possessions are not only at the mercy of theft (albeit unlikely) but also natural disasters that could result in damage. In fact, if something should happen to your safe deposit box, it’s harder to recover your loss as records about what is contained within it are deliberately vague to protect your privacy. Finding standalone insurance that covers your valuables for both physical loss or damage whilst they are in a safe deposit box is therefore crucial.

Taking a leaf out of Australia’s book, you can see the various safe deposit boxes in Sydney to work out what sort of size is right for your needs. If you decide to go ahead, the good news is that your insurance premiums tend to be pretty low given you have elected to store your items in a highly secured safety deposit facility.

The benefits of insurance:

• Protection and cover in case your valuables get lost or damaged
• Cover against theft
• The choice to cover valuables according to fair market value

Considerations before you approach an insurer:

Get to know your safety deposit facility’s policies - Security processes will change from company to company. For example, some facilities might ensure you have a member of staff with you whilst opening your vault, therefore offering an additional layer of security.

Check up on the rules - Check up on the rules your chosen facility operates by. The times in which you can access a deposit box will depend on the times your provider opens and closes.

Discover if you are already covered - Some security deposit boxes will have automatic basic insurance with your rental amount. However, if this is the case, you may still need to add additional insurance on top if your items are particularly difficult to value, or exceed a certain amount of money.

So, make sure you ask your provider lots of questions about what you already are covered for and how this might affect your insurance. It’s a good idea to take stock regularly, and top up your cover as and when you add more valuables, or they appreciate in value - the key is flexibility when it comes to insuring your valuables.

The right level of cover:

Check comparison sites - Let the search engines do all the hard work for you. Comparison sites are a great way to get a general overview of what each insurer offers, and you can filter your search results according to what matters to you most for the ultimate convenience.

Search for feedback - You will also want to see what you can find in terms of customer feedback and testimonials. Ensuring they are trustworthy, reputable and competitive is crucial before you choose a policy.

There you go, my tips for insuring valuables within safe deposit boxes. After all, if you’ve taken steps to place your assets in highly secure facility, we can assume you would be devastated if anything should happen to them.