Asafe deposit box, sometimes referred to as asafety deposit box, is an individually secured container, usually held within a largersafe orbank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located inbanks,post offices or other institutions. Safe deposit boxes are used to store valuable possessions, such asgemstones,precious metals,currency, marketablesecurities,luxury goods, important documents (e.g.wills, propertydeeds, orbirth certificates), orcomputer data, which need protection fromtheft,fire,flood,tampering, or other perils. In theUnited States, neither banks nor the FDIC insure the contents. An individual can purchase separateinsurance for the safe deposit box in order to cover e.g. theft, fire, flooding or terrorist attacks.
Somehotels,resorts, andcruise ships offer safe deposit boxes or small safes to their patrons, for temporary use during their stay.[1] These facilities may be located behind thereception desk, or securely anchored within private guest rooms for privacy.[2]
The contents of safe deposit boxes may be seized under the legal theory ofabandoned property.[3] They also may be searched and seized by the order of a court through the issuance of search warrant.[4]
In the United States and elsewhere, safe deposit boxes are considered a "legacy service"; many new bank branches do not bother to install any.[5] In the 20th century, bank branches were more prestigious; in the 21st century, space has grown more valuable with higher land values and rents, and many banks see the service as ancillary to their core business. Additionally, despite the public perception of safe deposit boxes as being extremely secure, there is little incentive for banks to actually ensure this is true;[6] there are no federal laws in the US governing the matter or rules that would require compensation to customers if property stored there is stolen or destroyed.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Payne, Kirby D.Safety Deposit Boxes and In-Room Safes.Archived 8 August 2016 at theWayback Machine Hotel Online data base of News and Trends.
- ^Micahel, Alex."Safety Deposit box Dubai".Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved20 December 2022.
- ^Liz Pulliam Weston (22 June 2005)."Why treasures in safe deposit boxes get 'lost'".MSN Money.Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved17 July 2017.
- ^"Search Warrants"(PDF).American Safe Deposit. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 14 April 2018. Retrieved14 April 2018.
- ^abCowley, Stacy (19 July 2019)."Safe Deposit Boxes Aren't Safe".The New York Times.ISSN 0362-4331.Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved19 July 2022.
- ^Hendry, Leah (2 October 2024)."How safe are safety deposit boxes? They're not as protected as you may think".CBC News.Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved3 October 2024.