Bank Of America Safe Deposit Box

Posted : admin On 3/28/2022
  • 11 Best Things to Keep in a Safe Deposit Box Certain documents and valuables, including certain things with sentimental value, should be stored securely at your bank.
  • The word “Box” refers to the safe deposit box account and the safe deposit box including, if applicable, the compartment inside the safe box where the contents may be held. The words “Bank”, “we”, “us” means Bank of America, N.A.

Bank Of America Safe Deposit Box Email

A safe deposit box — often referred to as a safety deposit — is a small, locked metal container stored in a vault within a bank. These boxes involve two sets of keys: one which remains with the bank and one which goes to the owner of the box. Both keys are required to open the safe deposit box, which provides an additional layer of security.

Safe

If you’re looking for safe deposit box alternatives, you’re not alone. Our non-bank safe deposit box service is your insured and protected storage option. A private vault is the best alternative to a safe deposit box at your bank. With superior security, optional total anonymity, and biometric security measures we offer the highest degree of safety and security.

Non-Bank Safe Deposit Box

Private vault storage is your non-bank safe deposit solution. Offering fully insured storage with the benefit of military grade security it is the safest place to store your valuables. We offer protection for your cash, coin, silver, and gold storage needs. You can keep anything in our non-bank safe deposit boxes, with the exception of explosives or illegal substances.

Home Safe

A home safe is another option and with demand for them spiking many have bought one. With banks facing bailouts, buy-outs, nearly collapsing or actually closing bank safe deposit boxes just are safe. With a sledgehammer and crowbar even the best home safes will only last so long. In addition if your home is damaged by fire, flood, or other disaster no safe will guarantee their content’s safety.

Do You Really Need A Safe Deposit Box?

Do you have anything you’d want to save from a house fire, flood, or explosion? Then the answer is YES! The primary purpose of a safe deposit box is to protect your valuables. Common items people place in a safe deposit box include: heirlooms, valuables, important documents, gold, silver, and collectable coins. Some people also choose to place firearms in safe deposit boxes for safe keeping.

Make a list of all the things that’d you’d be crushed by if you lost them to a fire in your home. That will either give you an idea of what you’d want to put in a safe deposit box, or will help you realize you don’t need one. Read more on if you need a safe deposit box here.

Can The Government Get Into Your Safety Deposit Box?

The government can get into a bank safety deposit box. In contrast a non-bank safe deposit box can be set up with 100% anonymity. Being totally anonymous protects your valuables from being tracked by government entities. This means they can get into your bank safe deposit box, but not ours. Read more on Are Bank Safe Deposit Boxes Really Safe?

Is It Legal to Keep Cash In A Safety Deposit Box?

It is legal to keep cash, gold, sliver, diamonds, coins, action figures, or whatever means the most to you. Protecting your collectables and valuables from theft, fire, flood, or other damage in your home is our priority. Read the FDIC’s Five Things to Know About Safe Deposit Boxes, Home Safes and Your Valuables.

Bank Safety Deposit Box Risks

While bank safety deposit boxes are secure, they aren’t 100%. If there is a natural disaster or other crisis it might be hard if not impossible to access your box. This is why a lot of people will make copies of important documents. In addition bank safety deposit boxes are not under the protection of FDIC insurance. In addition you need an ID or SSN to open a bank safety deposit box account. That means if there ever is a situation where assets are being seized, the government will be able to find your safety deposit box.

What Should Go In A Safe Deposit Box

Box

There are many types of things people choose to keep in safe deposit boxes. These include important documents, jewelry, gold, silver, and more. Read more below about some of the common safe deposit box contents.

Jewelry

If you’ve got jewelry you don’t wear often, especially heirlooms, a safe deposit box is the place to protect them. Homes get broken into and home safes won’t hold up to determined burglars.

Gold Bullion & Silver

Lots of savvy investors know that gold and gold bullion is one of the best assets to own during a depression. It holds its value or appreciates. So this is a common strategy for the wealthy to protect their interests.

Collectable Coins

Collectable coins are a very common item put into safe deposit boxes. These items will lose their value if there is a disaster in the home and are protected better in a private vault.

Firearms

Whether the firearm is collectable, there are kids in the home, or someone just wants to have an extra in case of emergencies, a deposit box is the way to do it.

Titles & Deeds

These important documents are best kept in safe deposit boxes. They are the proof of ownership for you and your possessions or real estate.

Passports

Unless you’re a bit of a globe trotter you’re likely not using your passport every year. Keeping your passports in a safe deposit box prevents theft or losing them to fire.

List Of Valuables In Home

Home insurance policies function, in part, on detailed lists of valuables in your home. If this list is lost to fire you won’t have a very comprehensive idea of what was in the home.

Bonds, Notes, & Stocks

These valuable items should be protected from fire, flood, and theft. Doing so at home comes with unmanable risks. Safe deposit boxes are the smart way to protect your wealth!

Bank Of America Safe Deposit Boxes

What Should Not Go In A Safe Deposit Box

While lots of valuables need protection, some documents and items should not go in your safe deposit box. These are items that you need immediate access to.

Sole Copy Of Wills

For example if you only have one copy of your will. It takes time in the event of your passing to get into your safe deposit box. This means that if you have any immediate directives in your will, no one will know about them until much later.

Cash Is Debatable

Cash is one thing people debate if it should be kept in a safety deposit box. During times where the stock market is doing well and banks aren’t in trouble, cash is better off in savings accounts and investments. In uncertain times it is better to store cash in safety deposit boxes or move them into depression resistant assets.

Explosives

Clearly no bank or private vault is interested in housing dangerous materials. So these are best kept under lock and key elsewhere.

Illegal Substances

Bank Of America Safe Deposit Box Keys Image

While private vaults are anonymous they are not safe havens for illegal substances. They are designed for law abiding citizens to protect their valuables.

Bank Of America Safe Deposit Box Key

Utah’s Safe Deposit Box Alternative

If you’ve realized that you need a non bank safe deposit box, Safe Haven Private Vaults is your answer. Our facility has military grade security, biometric identification, and can be 100% anonymous. Choose to protect your assets and heirlooms in Utah’s more secure safe deposit box alternative!

Answer by John Burnett:
This is a judgment call. If you want to accommodate this customer, you might require him to remove the firing pins and certify that he has done so. Ask him to allow a bank employee knowledgeable of firearms examine them to ensure that all rounds have been removed. Demand that no ammunition be stored in the box. That pretty much removes the guns from the definition of 'inherently dangerous.'
Obviously, this guy has stepped up to the plate and asked permission, when he could easily have ignored your rules and put a loaded and operable handgun in the vault without your knowing.

Answer by Andy Zavoina:
If this is an unloaded weapon it poses no harm, per your contract. This is especially so if it is an antique and not able to fire. In this case I'd say it is able to be stored there.
If you want to hold fast to your policy, you may do so but exceptions are made regularly to policies in banks. The storage of a weapon is likely not the reason the sign is there. If the customer wants it stored so that it is not available to children then I would be more apt to allowing this. For safety you may want to require that it have a trigger lock and that neither the key nor ammunition be stored in the bank.

Answer by Ken Golliher:
My suggestion is that you tell the customer you meant what you said on the sign on the front door. My unloaded guns are definitely not inherently dangerous. However, I am the only one who is ever certain they are not loaded and I have seen more than one dedicated gun owner accidentally discharge an 'unloaded' weapon. Having employees inspect them violates the 'prime directive' in terms of the bank's goal of not knowing what is in the box.
One training client had a renter walk in the front door carrying an ancient Buntline revolver in plain sight. Some employees had unpleasant reactions. He just laughed and said he was only going to put it in his safe deposit box. The branch manager was so angry she refused him access to the box and threatened to call the police if he ever did it again. Some people, particularly bank employees, are simply afraid of guns and their fears should be respected.
If a customer is discrete, he can do it without your knowledge and contract terms prohibiting the storage of firearms may protect the bank if a problem arises. However, if the customer asks, I would say, 'No.'
First published on BankersOnline.com 9/2/03