While reading the local newspaper this week, I noticed an article written by Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger. This article was written regarding the May 4th first year anniversary of the Greensburg tornado. In her article, she mainly discussed how to inventory your personal belongings so that you would have coverage for your personal property. Praeger encouraged Kansans to use a digital or video camera to provide visual coverage of their items. For example, she suggested having family members in photos and video to help verify ownership. There were two types of policies available for property coverage: actual cash value and replacement cost. However, there wasn’t much emphasis on where to keep the home inventory or other important deeds, certificates, and legal documents. Storage in a safe deposit box was mentioned. However, how safe is this type of storage?
In researching the fateful EF-5 tornado, I found that all three Greensburg banks were completely destroyed due to wind, rain, and debris. One year later, all three of the banks are still operating out of temporary mobile homes with plans to rebuild. Unfortunately, I am left to conclude that the documents and photos in these boxes were more than likely destroyed. In the article, “Your safe deposit box may not be so safe,” that appeared on the MSN money web site, it was clear that safe deposit boxes are not absolutely, positively safe. For example, the heat from a fire is able to melt precious metals in a safe deposit box and turn paper documents to ash. Even worse, a bomb in a safe deposit box would most likely obliterate everything within the area. Last, I discovered that the most common perpetrator of safe deposit boxes was flooding/rising water. Though these vaults (usually in the basement) are built to resist water for a certain time period, security, lighting, and telephone conduits provide the pathway for water to sneak in and fill your box like a bathtub.
The most common misconception people have about safe deposit boxes is that their contents are covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s $100,000 guaruntee. Unfortunately, this is far from true. The FDIC’s insurance policy does not extend to safe deposit boxes. Additionally, most personal insurance policies do not cover it either.
What options does an average citizen have for storing documents and valuables in a place where they will be protected from natural disaster, bombs, theft, and the like? One could opt for heavy insurance on personal valuables, or they could look into the newest security options that technology has to offer. For example, digital safety vaults are available to document a customer’s important photos, home videos, and records. Another option, is the security of an underground private vault. In conclusion, is it possible to establish monetary value to documents? What are intimate memories worth to you?
