All About Bank Safe Deposit Boxes
Most of the Banks offer their customers "Safe Deposit Boxes" service at designated branches for a quarterly, half yearly or annual rental. The rentals charged will be vary from Rs 500-20,000 depending on the size of the safe deposit box and the city. Customers can arrange to store a box containing their valuables and important papers (such as jewelry, house deeds, investment certificates and other valuable documents) in the bank's "strong room" or other secure area. Customers do not have to declare what items they have stored. They can get access to their valuables, during banking hours and they can remove or replace items as they wish.
Most of the time the service operates without difficulty. But disputes sometimes arise – generally about whether some of the contents of a box have gone missing while in the bank's custody. This is because the customer is often unable to provide any firm evidence of what was in their safe deposit box. Customers do not always appreciate that the valuables they keep in safe custody should be properly insured for their full value. Keeping valuables in safe custody should not be seen as an alternative to insuring them, but rather as a way of keeping insurance premiums as low as possible. Where relevant, from time-to-time customers should arrange professional valuations of any jewellery and other valuable objects kept in safe custody.
The contents of a safe deposit box are not deposits in the bank and are not insured by the DICGC (Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation). The bank also normally does not insure your contents, because the bank doesn't know what is there to insure, and generally doesn't want to know. They are concerned only if the contents may be hazardous or otherwise prohibited. This should be defined in your rental agreement with the bank. What you may do is contact your insurance agent who also covers your house insurance to find out any insurance policy is available for insuring the valuables you deposited in bank safe deposit box. You can tell them what you keep in the box, values and request a rider on your existing policy to cover this, if available. For more details, contact your insurance company or insurance agent.
While safe deposit boxes are very good at protecting your valuables from theft, this doesn't mean they are completely protected and safe deposit boxes still pose risks like a bank could suffer a broken water line (flood) and rising water can damage the contents of your box (although manufacturers build vaults to resist water for a certain period, accompanying lighting, security and telephone conduits are channels for the water to seep inside and fill your box like a bathtub. What you need to do is put the contents of your box in sealed plastic bags. This will protect them from water damage Second threat is fire, heat is the true culprit that turns papers to ash and liquefy metals inside that steel oven. And a bomb in any safe-deposit box at the branch would obliterate everything in that area. (I don't think all safe deposit lockers are fire proof). The third major threat is theft. Please make sure to keep an inventory of your box at home, so you know exactly what is there.
Be cautious, on what to store in a safe deposit box and what to put elsewhere. Here are some guidelines
- Don't Store the cash in safe deposit box - Cash in a safe deposit box is not insured by the DICGC. If the money disappears, it's just gone forever.
- Insure jewelry, coins and other valuables through a private insurer. The DICGC doesn't cover anything in a safety deposit box. Better to find an insurance company to cover the valuables in the safe deposit box, if such types of insurance cover available.
- Wrap it in plastic. Many banks put their safe-deposit boxes in the basement where they are very vulnerable to floods, water shedding etc. So its recommended to putting anything vulnerable to dampness in a tightly sealed plastic container/cover.
- Don't trust bank employees. ''Don't allow a bank employee to keep your key and handle transactions for you if you're not.
- Hide the evidence. ''Before leaving the strong room, make sure all valuables are safely back inside the box and make sure there's nothing left behind that may indicate the contents of your box, such as a currency strap, a specially-marked envelope or an empty jewelry box."
- Ensure to lock your safe deposit box before leaving the room
- Keep Photocopies /scanned images of all documents which you deposited in the safe deposit box
- Keep an inventory or the items deposited
- Keep the box key in a safer place
- Don't allow third parties ( even POA holder ) to access your safe deposit box
- Before you go for a safe deposit box, satisfy yourself that the safe deposit/strong room in the bank is well protected, the safe deposit boxes are fire proof/unbreakable and strong enough to protect them from fire/theft/flood etc and CCTV camera is installed in the bank and strong room to monitor the activities happening inside the bank and strong room.
- Don't forget to sign the logbook maintained by the bank each time when you access your safe deposit box
NRI Guide 2012 Ver 2.00 is uploaded on my website. This is a 540 pages comprehensive free guide. You can download this valuable e-book absolutely free of charges from my website.
Regards
Prakash Nair
No comments:
Post a Comment