Your valuables are vulnerable everywhere, but a little bit less in bank lockers
The importance of the safety of your valuables is extremely important. Even though, banks do not give assurance of the safety of the content inside their lockers, it needs to be understood that no one can. Be it a personal, complex, mechanical safe at home or a sophisticated fingerprint locker at a private locker service, the risk of theft or damage due to natural calamity will always remain.
With the statement made by RBI that banks will not compensate for the loss or damage of content from the locker, one may wonder why bank lockers are still safer. Here are some reasons to consider:
Secure Infrastructure
With advanced levels of security measures taken at a bank, there barely remains a doubt that bank lockers are a step ahead. Starting from complex locking systems, thick metal vaults, 24x7 surveillance CCTV cameras and security personnel, it comes to show that lockers are built to be safe and are well equipped with alarms and other alerting devices.
Even if someone does surpass the safety precautions, the bank lockers are located in multiple locations, in comparison to one safety locker at home. The probability of theft therefore, from multiple lockers in a bank is much lower.
Less Expensive
If you choose to go for a home safe, you would want to secure it with some additional measures like a finger print locking system or CCTV cameras. The entire security set-up when put up individually at home, goes from tens of thousands to lakhs of rupees. On the other hand, renting an extra-large sophisticated locker with the same complementary security measures would cost you less. It’s not that bank lockers are pocket friendly, but given the security factor, they prove to be less expensive.
Safety Measures
Banks follow certain safety protocols while offering lockers for rent to customers. Some of the mandatory safety precautions include the KYC or Know Your Customer process, where the bank requires identification documents from the tenant before renting a locker.
Other rules and guidelines include that the tenant needs to open the locker at least once in every 6 months. If the locker is not opened until a year by the tenant, the bank can issue a notice and open the locker in a legal manner.
Liability
Banks can easily wash their hands off the compensation in case of a break-in, a natural calamity, a terrorist attack or even a termite attack by arguing that they have no knowledge of what is stored in the lockers. And although RBI has stated that banks are in no way responsible for the loss or damage of contents in the locker, they can still be considered liable if there is any flaw in their security system. They can also be held responsible for not providing adequate security or lack of basic maintenance. So, you could receive some compensation if you move to the court.
This comes to show that there is no solid guarantee of the safety of your valuables anywhere. There is just a difference in the probability of losses or damages that you might incur. It is therefore wise to go for a home insurance cover where you can claim compensation on your losses by filing a theft claim. After the investigation and inspection, unlike banks, your claim will be settled and you will be paid for your lost or damaged property, covered by your policy, minus your deductible and any applicable depreciation.
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