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54 • NATIONAL HOME SECURITY MONTH
SAFES: 5 REASONS FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS TO
CONSIDER BUYING & HOW TO HELP THEM CHOOSE
» » THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY OVER
the last 10 years has seen an increase
in the collective worth of the average
household’s valuables in the UK. Over
that same period the explosion in the
digital age has meant that information
stored on laptops and tablets is as
crucially important to keep safe along
with passports and other personal
papers.
HOWEVER, THE UK STILL HAS SOME
SURPRISING STATISTICS, INCLUDING:
1. 1,414,000 Household Burglaries and
Thefts in the UK in 2015 – that’s 1
every 23 seconds*
2. 23% of people stash valuables in
their underwear drawer**
3. 40% of homeowners have a burglar
alarm AND 33% don’t set them**
4. 33% of burglars gain access through
open doors and windows**
5. 91% of stolen valuables are never
recovered**
Sources: *Office for National Statistics
2016 **www.lv.com/atheart (Dec 2017)
‘Buying a safe can
be a complex and
daunting task’
With a greater awareness of this
vulnerability through local news and
online media channels, consumers
have started to take protection of their
valuables more seriously. This and the
fact that many insurance companies
have more stringent policies in place,
forcing homeowners to comply by
installing a safe or have significantly
increased premiums. This has led to an
increase in demand for certified and
graded safes, especially in the ABC
demographics.
Buying a safe can be a complex and
daunting task, but there are plenty of
established and trusted safe brands in
the UK, such as ChubbSafes, Churchill
and others, which have invested heavily
in innovative designs, materials and new
manufacturing processes to provide
ranges of compact home safes.
3 STEPS TO HELP CONSUMERS
CHOOSE THE RIGHT SAFE
1. What is the combined
size or volume of the
items to be protected?
And, do the items need to
be stored separately?
2. Do the items need
insuring?
And, if so, what is the total
value?
3. Do the items need
protection from fire?
And, are the items paper,
data or media?
If so, make sure that the
safe carries the correctly-certified fire
resistance, such as EN 15659 or EN 1047-1
with certification on the inside of the door.
CONSUMERS SHOULD ALSO
BE MADE AWARE OF THESE
KEY LOGOS ON THE SAFE
AND WHAT THEY MEAN…
AiS runs an approved
list of safes giving peace
of mind that the safe
has been independently
tested and certified.
Sold Secure provides
professional and
accurate advice
regarding effective
security products to
commercial customers,
the insurance industry,
the Home Office, the
Police and the public.
Secured by Design is
the flagship UK olice
initiative to help ’design
out’ crime through the
use of high-quality,
innovative products
and processes,
through rigorous test
standards.
BEWARE: There are two
standards, DIN 4102 and BS
476 which are often used by
manufacturers, but these only relate
to testing of certain components
independent of the safe and not
the complete unit and so there is
no guarantee that the contents will
survive within the time specified.
In Europe, safes with EN 15659
the Light Fire Standard have been
furnace heated for 30 or 60 minutes,
to 170°C – where paper will survive.
The other more stringent test EN
1047-1 with greater endurance of
60 or 120 minutes, also involves a
reheat after a 30m drop onto rubble
and has temperature classifications
covering the storage of Paper 170°C,
DATA 65°C and DISKETTE 50°C.
When helping the consumer
choose a new safe make sure it
has the correct level of protection
against burglary and fire by
ensuring it has the right certification
labels such as the ones above
for their personal and insurance
requirements.
2 FINAL IMPORTANT FACTORS:
1. Location – the consumer needs
to ensure that they have space
and accessibility to position the
safe AND that if it is installed on
an upper floor that it can bear
the weight
2. Installation - All safes need
to be installed and fitted
professionally to meet with
insurance companies’ approval.
Due to the construction of
modern safes, most home safes
are relatively light, a benefit
for upper floors. However, it is
crucial that the safe is securely-
fitted to the instructions of the
manufacturer - a determining
factor when it comes to a
claim.
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LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | SEP/OCT 2018