Are bank lockers still the safest place for your valuables?
Published by India Today
Abhishek Kumar's role: Quoted
Abhishek Kumar explained the 2022 RBI locker rules, including the limit on what a bank pays for its own negligence, set at 100 times the yearly locker rent. He advised keeping an inventory with photos, registering a nominee, visiting the locker regularly and considering separate insurance.
What Abhishek Kumar said
Are bank lockers still secure, and what changed under the 2022 RBI rules?
Lockers still protect valuables better than keeping them at home, but banks are not absolute insurers of what is inside and their liability is capped. The RBI's revised locker guidelines from 2022 brought in new mandatory locker agreements and tighter security: banks must alert customers by SMS and email each time a locker is operated, retain CCTV recordings for 180 days and meet cybersecurity standards for electronic lockers.
When does a bank have to compensate me for a loss from my locker?
Compensation is due only when the loss comes from the bank's negligence or from events such as fire, theft or fraud by its staff, and even then the bank's liability is capped at 100 times the locker's yearly rent. For floods, earthquakes and other natural calamities, banks are generally not liable if they followed safety protocols. Whatever the bank pays is a penalty for its negligence and does not replace the value of what you lost.
Can I insure what I keep in a bank locker?
Banks do not insure locker contents, and the RBI bars them from offering such cover directly or indirectly. Because banks are not allowed to know what you store, it is difficult to prove what the lost items were worth, so in a dispute customers usually depend on bills of purchase, photos and valuation certificates issued by certified jewellers. I suggest buying independent insurance and choosing a branch in a safe area that is not prone to flooding.
What mistakes do locker holders commonly make?
Many users do not update their nominee details or fail to operate the locker even once a year, which can lead the bank to break it open to recover rent. Others ignore the SMS alerts after a visit or never check the key, which can delay spotting unauthorised access. Keep a detailed inventory with photos and valuations at home, register a nominee and visit the locker regularly.
In our words, from what he said in the piece. General information, not personal advice.
More of Abhishek's views on money management
The first part of an India Today series on bank lockers, the article reviews recent reports of valuables going missing from lockers. It explains the RBI's revised locker rules, why lockers are hard to get, who is responsible for what, when banks must pay compensation, and common mistakes locker holders make.
Publisher source
Are bank lockers still the safest place for your valuables?