What Happens If Your Bank Locker Is Robbed?

While the bank is liable to pay compensation, it may not be enough to cover the entire value of assets kept in the locker

As compared to keeping your valuables at home, a bank locker is considered far safer. Every year, there are thousands of cases where valuables are stolen from people’s homes. In comparison, cases of bank robberies are relatively rare. Banks have 24/7 security and surveillance, making them a more secure place to store your valuables. If you are planning to safeguard your valuables, let us take a look at what happens if your bank locker is robbed.

Banks to pay 100 times compensation

If your bank locker is robbed, the bank will be liable to pay you 100 times the rent of the locker as compensation. This is as per the rules made by RBI. For example, if the annual bank locker rent is Rs 5,000, the bank will have to pay you Rs 5,00,000 as compensation. The bank will have to pay this compensation in various situations. Apart from a bank robbery, your valuables in the bank locker can also be lost due to negligence on part of the bank employees. There have also been cases of bank employees involved in fraudulent activities. There can be other situations as well such as fire, floods, etc. In all such cases, the bank will have to pay 100 times the annual rent of the bank locker.

Consider insuring your bank locker assets

While 100 times may seem a lot, it may actually not be enough to cover your entire loss. For example, if you have kept valuables worth Rs 10 lakh and bank locker rent is Rs 5,000, you will get only Rs 5 lakh compensation. If you are planning to store highly valuable items in your bank locker, it would be better to get a bank locker insurance policy. As of now, only a few insurance companies have dedicated insurance policies to protect bank lockers. By comparing the 100 times compensation amount and the value of your assets, you can easily check if you need a separate insurance policy to safeguard the value of your assets kept in a bank locker.

Items allowed and not allowed in bank lockers

Bank lockers are generally safer than keeping valuables at home. However, there are restrictions on what you can store in your bank account. For example, you cannot store cash in a bank locker. This is as per the new rules mandated by RBI. Various other items are also banned such as weapons, explosives, perishable items, hazardous materials and contraband materials. Talking about items that are allowed, you can put valuables such as gems, gold coins and jewelry in your bank locker. You can also store various types of documents such as insurance policy, property documents, loan documents, bonds, etc.