Secure boxes cost as low as £40 and as high as £1200 yearly. Knowing what makes up a safety deposit box price will help you make an informed buying decision. So we have looked at some of the cost centres like staffing, business model, and how it influences the price of your secure box provider.
On average, if you want to rent a safety deposit box, you’ll be looking at an annual investment ranging from £40 for the smallest boxes to £1200 for the largest ones.
The price will depend on many different factors. We’ve broken them down for you in this article to understand any prices you are being quoted and what you are paying for.
Construction aside, the highest cost in any service-based business is usually the staff. When deciding which is the best safety deposit centre for you, prices will be made up of some or all of the following.
Staffing
Staffing levels will be decided by the amount of staff required to cover the centre and its opening hours safely.
Is the centre open outside standard office hours? Do they have manned security, or do they rely solely on electronic security?
You can expect to pay slightly more for a centre that has 24/7 static cover. Both have their merits. One is enhanced security, and the other is a lower price.
The cost of the staff, and their terms and conditions, will be very much dictated by the cost of labour and unemployment rates in the area the centre is located.
Remember that, as well as wages, the safety deposit centre, will also be covering costs such as sick pay, holiday pay, pensions, and employers’ NI contributions, which are approximately 34% of the hourly rate.
Insurance
There are very few insurers in the UK markets that offer safe deposit box insurance; therefore, there is little competitive pricing available when it comes to cost.
Ellerton Knight, for example, offers £10,000 worth of cover for £10.00 per annum to safety deposit centres.
Although offered as ‘complimentary,’ the insurance cost has to be covered somewhere so that it will be written into the price of the box.
Therefore, you can expect to pay slightly more for a safety deposit box with ‘complimentary’ insurance.
Business Model
What is the company’s business model?
Put, low-cost and high volume or high-cost low volume?
Do you like the feeling of the personal touch and exclusivity? This has to be paid for somewhere, or are you more comfortable being anonymous, which can help providers give you a lower price.
Some centres charge low annual rental and charge you each time you access your box. An ideal solution if you are storing items that you only need access to occasionally.
Most, however, charge a higher rental with unlimited access.
Registration
All centres are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and have to adhere to the code of conduct for safety deposit box providers.
There are ongoing costs associated with this:
Cost of identity validation checks: dependant on the volume – between £1.00 – £5.00 per check
Cost of anti-money laundering checks and ongoing monitoring: dependant on volume – between £1.00 – £5.00 per check/monitor (usually according to a risk score and could be up to once a month)
Everyone you allow to access your ‘box’ is subject to these checks.
Centres either write this into the cost of their safety deposit boxes or recoup in a one-off registration fee, payable up-front.
Key Deposit
Access cards and keys to the premises and the vault area are not something you can get cut at the local locksmith for obvious reasons.
Most centres will therefore charge you a refundable key deposit, and you will be charged if they have to replace the locks for lost/stolen keys.
Profit
What profit is the company making?
All businesses have to make a profit.
After the initial investment, it could take up to 5 years of trading before a centre breaks even. Still, they’d normally be looking to make up to 40% profit over the next five years.
You can check My Security Box for more information on centres and their prices.
You can visit our prices page to see our range of box sizes and prices.