Burglary Safes
Using a correctly
rated and labeled safe is imperative for the proper
protection of you valuables, in some cases insurance could
disallow a claim if the safe you were using was not properly
rated or labeled.
Burglary safes
are designed for the protection of money and valuables. It
is important that you use a safe that is designed, tested
and rated for this purpose. They range in size and shape,
from small in floor boxes up the bank vault doors.
The degree of
protection, has as wide a range. Construction materials
range from steel plate to composite materials.
Burglary safe
ratings are usually expressed by a letter, "B", "C", "E", or
"TL15", "TL30", "TL60", "TLTR60", "TLTRTX60X6". The letter
designations are really left over from a widely used
mercantile insurance rating system, that is typically not
used today. The "TL" rating are the current UL ratings, and
can be broken down as follows.
These are
sample rating, there are more. The term "resists attack by
tools" is measured as the actual time that the tool is in
contact with the area being attacked. Keeping this in mind,
the test time is typically much longer than the number of
minutes given.
-
TL15 -
resists attack by tools for 15 minutes
-
TL30 -
resists attack by tools for 30 minutes
-
TL60 -
resists attack by tools for 60 minutes
-
TLTR60 -
resists tool and abrasive tool attack for 60 minutes
-
TLTRTX60X6 -
resists tool, abrasive tool, and explosive attack for 60
minutes, on all 6 sides.
Fire safes are not
usually rated for the protection of money and valuables.
Some insurance policies will require specific UL®
ratings for burglary safes. These UL®
ratings are awarded to safe models that pass a variety of
attacks with tools and known methods of defeat, those models
that pass will have a rating expressed in minutes and codes
for the types of attack. RE: TL30, TL60, TLTXTR60 etc. It is
important to be aware that burglary rated safes, unless
specifically stated on the label are usually not rated for
fire protection.
Some of
the newer designs, such as the Amsec BF Series, and the
Meilink Composite Series also afford fire protection.
Burglary safes are manufactured from many materials, and in
many configurations.
|
