Questions people ask
What do people use instead of safe deposit boxes?
The short answer
Private vault boxes, home safes and specialist depositories are the usual alternatives to a bank safe deposit box. Many banks have reduced or closed box services at branches, which is why the question comes up at all.
The longer answer
A private vault box is a contract for space rather than a bank account. The contents are not a deposit and are not FDIC insured, and neither are the contents of a bank's box. That surprises people. Contents insurance is arranged separately against a declared value, whichever kind of box you choose.
A home safe keeps things where you are, which is convenient. During a separation it is exactly the problem, because the house is shared ground and both people may know the combination. A safe bolted to the floor also stays with the house when one of you leaves it. It remains a good place for daily valuables and spare keys.
Specialist depositories differ from one another in what they hold, who can enter and on what terms. The useful comparison is term by term, not by category, and the same questions work for a bank, a vault company or anyone else offering space behind a locked door. Get the answers in writing, because the rental agreement is what governs, not the conversation at the counter. A provider that will not answer in writing has answered.
When a branch stops renting boxes, the renter's problem is immediate: everything inside needs a new home. The first task is a written list of what the old box held, made before anything moves, so nothing goes missing between one lock and the next. Dated photographs of the contents, taken as they come out, finish the job.
Questions to put to any box provider before signing
Ask who can rent. Here the answer is one person, two people jointly, a trust or a company. Ask how people are identified and when they can come in. Here every renter is checked against government-issued photo ID, access is by appointment, every visit is logged, and the hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Ask what the contents are insured for and by whom. Ask for the list of what may not be stored. Ask what the provider does when a subpoena arrives. Our answer to the last is that valid subpoenas and court orders are honored, and how we respond to legal process is written down rather than improvised.
Distance is the other question. If your bank closed its boxes and you live nowhere near Fort Lauderdale, you can mail documents to us; we place them in a box and mail the key back to you, if you want that route. If a bank near you still rents boxes on terms you are happy with, that may simply be the better answer. A visit to the vault is worth making only if it isn't.