Many of us keep our important papers and valuable items in a safe in our home or in a safe deposit box at our bank. We should make wise choices for where we keep those things we know would be difficult or even impossible to replace.

Renting a safe deposit box from your bank gives you privacy and security for your valuables. If you keep your valuables in your home, even in a safe, they are still exposed to potential damage from fire or water, or to burglary. “Protect your assets” was number 5 on our list of the top 10 financial resolutions for the year in an earlier column, and a safe deposit box can provide protection for some assets.

What should go in your safe deposit box? Family records such as birth, marriage and death certificates, and originals of insurance policies, real estate transactions, and other important papers come to mind first. Be sure to include any military service records you want to protect, as well as collectibles, jewelry, and other valuables – whatever you feel is irreplaceable. Digital and video cameras also make it easy to record and store the contents of your home or office for insurance purposes.

Now, the big question – is your safe deposit box safe? The contents of your safe deposit box are not an insured deposit account, so they are not covered by the FDIC as a checking or savings account at the bank is. Safe deposit boxes are manufactured to be very resistant to fire, water, flood, and other disasters, and banks use alarms, heat and motion detectors and video cameras for additional security.

The contents of your safe deposit box are also protected by a dual key system – two separate keys are required to open the box and the bank has only one key of the two. If you lose the two customer keys the bank gives you with your rental, the box has to be drilled open by a locksmith. That’s about a safe as anyone can make it!

Nothing is ever perfect, however, and disasters like Hurricane Katrina make us think of other safety matters. We recommend that you make an inventory of your safe deposit box contents and keep it at home or your office. The Independent Bankers Association of Texas also suggests that you put valuable items in sealed plastic bags to protect them in the event of such a disaster. You may also be able to insure the contents of your safe deposit box through your homeowners’ or business insurance.