Many people regard residential safes as necessary only for those who own guns or who own highly valuable items. Still, you would be surprised at the number of benefits a residential safe can offer the average household. 

Safes can serve a wide variety of purposes in the home. A safe creates a secure location where you can store valuables and important documents, such as birth certificates, social security cards, life insurance policies, and estate planning documents. A safe also serves as a major deterrent for thieves. High-quality safes are also built to withstand home emergencies such as fires, floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes, protecting everything inside your safe even when the worst happens.

Here are some reasons a family needs a safe in their home.

Gun Security

This is perhaps the most important reason to install a residential safe in your home, so it is worth mentioning first. A residential safe can be used to store handguns, rifles, bullets, and other dangerous items out of the reach of children. This is critical for gun safety.

Handgun vaults, or pistol safes, are designed specifically for storing handguns (such as pistols or revolvers), along with other small valuables. They are typically compact and relatively lightweight, meaning you can take your valuables with you wherever you go. Many models are sized perfectly for automobile use, and some models will even store comfortably inside a briefcase or daypack for travel. Handgun vaults may be fitted with a variety of security lock features to suit any preference. Some, for example, feature a digital keypad entry system, while others feature a "no eyes keypad" which allows you to open your safe with simply the touch of your hand.

Protection for Important Documents

A home safe can also be used to store valuable and irreplaceable documents, such as birth certificates, social security cards, life insurance policies, and estate planning documents. You can rest assured that your documents will remain safe even in the case of a fire or burglary.

Preparation for a Fire or Flood

Many people assume that a safe's primary purpose is to protect valuable possessions from theft. However, installing a safe is also a good preventative measure against fire or flood in your home. A high-quality, fire-rated safe can keep your valuable items safe from fire damage, water damage, and other types of damage caused by natural disasters.

Deterrent for Thieves

It seems that home thefts and burglaries are on the rise, perhaps because of the increasing number of YouTube videos out there that teach criminals how to break into homes. A home safe can be a major deterrent for these thieves. A safe doesn't just protect your possessions from burglars, either; it will also protect your possessions from contractors and other workers who enter and leave your home on a regular basis—people whom you would never expect to be thieves. Thieves tend to be criminals of opportunity, and when they see a home safe that is going to be difficult to open or to remove and transport, they are less likely to leave your home with the contents of that safe.

Protecting Your Home Portfolio

Banks and financial markets seem to see more and more instability these days, and that's causing many to turn their current investments into items of direct physical value—such as currency and precious metals. A residential safe is truly the only way to keep those parts of your home portfolio safe and secure.