Resistance grades
The European standard EN 1143-1 grades safes from grade 0 to grade VI according to their resistance to break-in attempts, measured in resistance units during standardised destructive tests. The higher the grade, the greater the insurable value insurers will accept.
A second standard, EN 1047, covers fire resistance and is assessed separately: a burglary-resistant safe is not necessarily fireproof, and a fireproof safe is not necessarily burglary-resistant. For irreplaceable documents, the two requirements go together.
The decisive factor is your insurance policy. It sets the amount covered for valuables kept at home, and frequently makes that cover conditional on a minimum grade and compliant anchoring. Start by reading your policy: it determines which safe to buy, not the other way round.
Built-in or freestanding
A built-in safe is set into the masonry and concealed. Discretion is its main asset: what is not found is not attacked. It requires a load-bearing wall of sufficient thickness and a recess cut cleanly.
A freestanding safe is bolted to the floor, the wall or both, using anchor bolts suited to the surface. It allows larger capacities and can move with you if you relocate, but it is visible.
In both cases, the anchoring is what makes the difference. An unanchored fifty-kilo safe can be carried by two people: the burglar takes the whole thing away and opens it elsewhere, at leisure. Anchoring in line with the manufacturer's instructions is often an explicit condition of the insurance cover.
Where to install it
Avoid the obvious spots: the main bedroom, the walk-in wardrobe, the study, under the bed. These are the first places searched, and they are searched quickly.
Favour a load-bearing wall, a discreet location and access that remains convenient for you day to day — a safe that is hard to reach ends up unused. Think about damp as well: cellars and garages are poorly suited to documents and digital media.
For a business, the logic is different: the safe should be out of customers' sight, in a room with controlled access, its location known only to authorised staff. A deposit slot lets you put money into the safe without opening it, which limits exposure when handling takings.
Safe opening and repairs
A forgotten code, a jammed lock, a flat battery in an electronic lock, a lost key: a safe can become inaccessible. Any intervention requires strict identification of the owner and proof of ownership of the safe.
For a safe still under warranty, contact the manufacturer first: many have an emergency opening procedure based on the serial number, less destructive and less costly than forcing it open.
Keep the safe's documentation, its serial number and its certificate of conformity somewhere secure — but not inside the safe itself. This obvious precaution is forgotten more often than you might think.