Where to Safely Store Your Gold

Even without an economic meltdown, there’s less faith in bank safe deposit boxes, because there aren’t federal laws governing these boxes, so if anything is stolen or destroyed, the customer is typically out of luck.

That may be why some are choosing to go the old-fashioned route and are storing their gold at home. Numerous YouTube videos and bloggers explain how to bury gold bars in everything from mincemeat to the backyard.

But it’s wise to consider your home options before simply stuffing your gold under a tree.

Mr. Cubeta, who advises gold owners to store their gold within 15 to 20 minutes of their home so they have easy access to it in case of a financial meltdown, said the best thing you can do is to keep half in a home safe while putting the other half in a safe deposit box.

“You need a safe especially designed for precious metals,” he said, explaining that most gun safes can’t withstand the heat of a fire, while precious metal safes will keep your gold protected for two hours.

Before moving your gold home, you need to contact the insurer that issues your homeowner’s policy, because most don’t cover large amounts of gold stored at home.

“On average, the standard homeowner’s insurance policy covers around $1,000 for jewelry or valuables, and the average home insurance policy is set up to protect the average household so the limits will not be sufficient to cover expensive or valuable items,” said Lev Barinskiy, the C.E.O. of SmartFinancial, an insurance comparison site.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/style/gold-storage.html