Most of the households in Western countries are equipped with a safe, or even a few safes. With the exception of weapons, in wich case having a safe is regulated by law, people do not usually keep safes here in Lithuania. Unfortunatly, the vast majority start thinking about buying a safe only after they have fallen victim to theft.

The thing is, they do not believe they have anything of value, and rely on armored doors and alarms, or rest assured that good insurance will cover the losses. It is even more strange that private houses and cottages rarely have safes too. Not the brightest decision, considering how easy it is for a thief to break into through a window. In fact, the number of such incidents has increased recently in Lithuania. Even the owners of the most luxurious houses do not always bother with buying a safe!

Why should you?

Keeping your valuables and property safe is essential. However, it only works, if you use various security measures altogether. An armored door is a good investment both for an apartment and a private house. When getting into your property through a window, robbers will not manage to carry out your valuables the same way they have broken into. Plus, the neighbors might notice and get suspicious. The that reason as well, it is important to secure your windows. Use special handles or lockers that prevent windows from being forced open. Both things are affordable, and yet they provide additional secure. Another important safety measure is never to leave outside ladders, boxes or anything that could help robbers break into your property. Then there is an alarm. Even the most sensitive ones will not keep thieves away, they will only shorten their time. Few minutes can be more than enough for a thief to grab something valuable and cause a lot of damage. What about insurance? It does compensate material losses, but does it keep you safe? Not really. Interestingly, in Western countries insurance companies only agree to insure you if your house has a safe. For that reason, all safes have the ‘cash and valuables’ rating built upon the level of security of each particular safe. Insurance companies use it to finalize the insurance amount. As of today, insurance companies in Lithuania do not have such rules, but it is very likely that soon it will be used here as well.  This all applies to things that have financial value, but how to deal with those belongings that little to no material value, but are very dear to you because of the memories they keep -- USBs or albums with the most precious pictures, documents that cannot be lost, computers with important data? The answer is to lock them in a safe. A safe does not replace the other measures of security, as they are all important, especially when used in complex. However, safes are the best at protecting small things that are easy to carry. There are safes with the security level so high, it is nearly impossible to open them even when thieves have plenty of time on their hands. But since thieves normally have very little time to operate, a regular home safe will be an unbeatable barrier.

Below you can find a short list of just some valuable belongings that people keep in safes:

• Passports, birth certificates, personal identity cards;
• Cash, credit cards;
• Documents: house books, agreements, company incorporation contracts and other documents;
• Media and other equipment with information that cannot be seen by third parties;
• Computers and other expensive devices;   
• Jewellery, coins / collections of precious metals;
• Wristwatches;
• Stamps;
• Works of art;
• Expensive instruments;
• Old photographs or other pictures that are hold emotional value;
• Diaries;
• Keys, access cards;
• Tickets;
• Other valuables (not only in cash).  

To sum it all up, all of the secure measures mentioned above play their own role in keeping your property and belongings safe and sound. A safe is a must no matter where you live, because it is the most reliable way of protecting your valuable from an instantaneous theft. Last but not least, do not put off taking care of your things or you might regret it tomorrow.