- "Safe deposit" redirects here; not to be confused with Safedeposits in Scotland.
A
safe deposit box, sometimes known as a
safety deposit box, is an individually secured container, usually held within a larger
safe or
bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in
banks,
post offices or other institutions. Safe deposit boxes are used to store valuable possessions, such as
gemstones,
precious metals,
currency, marketable securities, important documents such as
wills, property
deeds, and
birth certificates, or
computer data storage that need protection from
theft,
fire,
flood,
tampering, or other perils. In the
United States, renting out a safe deposit box in a bank
does not mean that the property is automatically insured. An individual should still purchase
insurance for the safe deposit box in order to cover theft and
natural disasters.
