Cash ratings
A cash rating of £1,000 means that you can
store up to £1,000 in your safe and your insurance company should insure for
this amount in cash overnight. To work out a rating for valuables (and other
non-cash items), multiply the cash rating by 10. Therefore if a safe states a cash rating of
£1000, the valuable rating for that safe will be £10,000 (multiplied by 10). It
is always important to double check with your insurance company as occasionally
if an item is of a very high value, you may need to buy a safe which actually
exceeds the value of the item.
This cash rating takes into account a number
of factors such as thickness and strength of the walls and door, the locking mechanisms
in place, and whether the safe is particularly heavy or bolted to the floor. As
a general rule of thumb though, the higher the cash rating, the more secure
your safe is likely to be.
ETL and UL Ratings
Safes are tested by an independent testing agency (such as UL or ETL) in
controlled environments to ensure that they are able to withstand fire for 30,
60, 90 or 120 minutes under intense conditions. There are different
requirements for data/media protection and paper/document protection because
the temperatures at which data media and documents deteriorate differ.
Paper Protection: To ensure the safety of your paper and documents the
internal temperature of your fire safe must not exceed 177°C.
Data Protection: To keep all your data secure and intact, the internal
temperature of the fire safe must not exceed 52°C.
Look out for manufacturers who may claim the product has been ‘UL or ETL
tested’, unless it actually states the length of time it has passed the test
for (ie 30min, etc.) there is no guarantee that the product actually passed the
test in the first place!
Eurograde
Label
Euorgrade safes are
available in 7 different grades ranging from Grade 0 to Grade 6. Each grade is
recognised by insurance companies and indicates the amount of cash which can be
stored in the safe.
Eurograde 0 is the lowest level and is approved
for up to £6,000. The most popular and next grade available is Eurograde 1 offering insurance cover for up to
£10,000. The remaining grades are Eurograde 2 - £17,500, Eurograde 3 - £35,000,
Eurograde 4 - £60,000, Eurograde 5 - £100,000 and the highest level, Eurograde
6 - £150,000.