Home Safes: Types & Ratings

A home safe serves two distinct purposes: protecting valuables from theft and, where fire-rated, protecting documents and data media from fire damage. Choosing the right safe requires understanding how safes are graded for both threats, what your insurer actually requires, and the practical considerations of weight, fitting, and access.

The UK safe market uses European standards for both burglary resistance and fire resistance. Understanding the grading system before purchasing prevents the common mistake of buying an unrated or insufficiently rated safe that your insurer will not recognise.

Insurance Cash Ratings

UK insurers express safe capacity in terms of a cash rating, the maximum value of cash the safe is approved to protect. Jewellery and other valuables are typically covered at a multiple of the cash rating, most commonly 10×.¹

Example: a safe with a cash rating of £1,000 would be approved by most insurers to protect up to £10,000 worth of jewellery.

Cash ratings are set by the insurer (not the standard) and depend on the safe’s tested resistance to burglary attack.² The Association of Insurance Surveyors’ recommended cash ratings, as collated in 2021 by the European Security Systems Association, are £2,000 for EN 14450 S1, £4,000 for S2, £6,000 for EN 1143-1 Grade 0, £10,000 for Grade I, £17,500 for Grade II and £35,000 for Grade III.¹ Common insurer cash ratings for domestic safes:

Always check with your specific insurer before purchasing, cash ratings and acceptable grades vary between policies.¹ Some budget home insurance policies do not specify a grade at all; others set a minimum grade for valuables kept in a safe.

EN 1143-1 Burglary Resistance Grades

EN 1143-1 is the European standard for burglary-resistant safes.³ Grades run from 0 up to XIII, each requiring a higher minimum resistance to attack, measured in resistance units (RU) for partial and complete access.⁴ The table gives the complete-access figure:

For scale, one specialist retailer lists a Phoenix Venus 0671 Grade 0 safe at £434.40 including VAT.⁵ The same retailer lists a Phoenix Neptune 1051 Grade I safe at £860.40.⁶ A Phoenix Mercury 2051 Grade II safe is listed there at £1,674.⁷

Grades IV and above are primarily commercial. Below Grade 0 sits EN 14450, the standard for secure safe cabinets (grades S1 and S2), which covers products for lower-risk uses that need less resistance than EN 1143-1 measures.⁸ For domestic use, an EN 14450 S1 or S2 safe, or EN 1143-1 Grade 0 or I, meets the requirements of the vast majority of UK home insurance policies.

Fire Ratings

Burglary resistance and fire resistance are separate properties, a safe that is excellent at resisting attack may provide no fire protection, and vice versa. Two standards apply:

EN 1047-1, the higher standard, for data cabinets that protect data media (hard drives, USB drives, film) as well as documents. Cabinets are rated for 60 or 120 minutes of fire exposure (S 60 or S 120), the test follows the cooling period after the fire as well, and a fire shock and impact test simulates falling debris.⁹ The internal limit depends on the class: 170°C for paper (P), 70°C and 85% humidity for data media (D), and 50°C and 85% humidity for the most sensitive media (DIS).⁹

EN 15659 (LFS 30 and LFS 60), the lighter standard for paper documents only. It rates light fire storage units for 30 or 60 minutes of fire exposure, with the temperature inside kept to no more than 170°C, the limit set for ordinary paper.¹⁰ Protection after the fire exposure ends is not assured, because these units are not tested through the cooling period.¹⁰ Less protective than EN 1047-1 but more affordable and available in lighter safe bodies.

No fire rating, most burglary-rated safes, particularly small domestic models, have no meaningful fire resistance. The heavy steel construction provides some incidental protection but will not preserve paper documents or electronics in a significant house fire.

If fire protection is a priority (for passports, deeds, hard drives), specify the fire rating separately from the burglary grade and confirm both are present in any safe you purchase.

Types of Safe

Freestanding home safe, the most common type. Ranges from small entry-level units (10–20 kg, ungraded or Grade 0) to large Grade I–II units (80–200+ kg). Smaller units must be bolted to the floor or wall, and larger ones should be fixed too. Typically floor-standing.

Floor safe, set into a concrete floor or built into a floor void and concealed by carpet or floorboards. Extremely difficult to remove; access is through the top. Less useful for frequent access but excellent for long-term storage of documents and valuables. Requires structural floor work to install; typically fitted by a locksmith or safe engineer.

Wall safe, fitted into a stud wall or masonry wall and concealed behind a mirror or picture. Smaller cavity limits size and grade, most wall safes are ungraded or Grade 0 at best. Useful for everyday valuables (passports, cash) but not appropriate for high-value items or fire protection.

Document safe (data safe), a fire-rated safe optimised for document and data storage rather than burglary resistance. Often rated to EN 15659 or EN 1047-1. May be a filing-cabinet form factor. Burglary rating is typically low (Grade 0 at best).

Gun cabinet / firearms cabinet, the usual way to meet the firearm certificate condition that guns are stored securely to prevent access by unauthorised people.¹¹ A steel cabinet, usually built to BS 7558, fixed to the structure as the police firearms licensing team advises.¹¹ Not a safe in the burglary-resistance sense, purpose-built to deny casual access and meet police requirements. Cost: £100–£400 supply; many owners fit their own.

Portable travel safe, small, lightweight (1–5 kg), with a cable to anchor to a fixed point. Provides nominal security for a hotel room or short-term situation. Not insurance-rated for home use; no meaningful burglary resistance.

Locking Mechanisms

Electronic keypad locks are the most practical for home use, fast access, no key to lose, and battery low-warning indicators are standard on quality units. Change the code on installation and periodically thereafter. Most units have an emergency key override, store this key separately and securely.

Biometric locks add convenience but introduce additional failure modes; always choose a model with a keypad or key backup.

Fixing Requirements

Most insurers require that any free-standing safe be bolted to the floor or wall as a condition of cover.¹ A safe that can be carried away and attacked at leisure provides far less protection than one that is fixed.

Manufacturer-supplied anchor bolts should be used through the pre-drilled base fixings into a concrete floor or solid masonry wall.¹¹ Stud partitions are not adequate for fixing a safe: the fixings can pull through under attack, and Home Office security guidance advises against fastening security devices to timber stud walls unless extra anchorage is provided.¹¹

Fixing kits are usually included with the safe; a locksmith or safe engineer can install and anchor one for a fee that depends on the fixing substrate, and some safe retailers sell delivery with bolting down as a paid option.⁵

Large Grade I–II safes (150+ kg) are harder to remove but should still be fixed: the test standard expects any safe under 1,000 kg to have anchoring holes, and tests their strength.⁴

Comparison Table

For an S2 example, one specialist lists the Phoenix Fortress SS1182E, approved for £4,000 cash, at £399.¹²

Practical Advice

Check your insurer’s requirements before purchasing, the specific grade or cash rating they require should be in your policy schedule or confirmed in writing. A safe that is one grade below the insurer’s requirement may not be accepted if you claim.

For most UK homes, an EN 14450 S1 or S2, or EN 1143-1 Grade 0, electronic keypad safe bolted to a concrete floor, costing roughly £100–£400 for S1 or S2 and from about £400 for Grade 0, will meet insurer requirements and provide adequate protection. If you also want fire protection for documents, purchase a separate document safe or specify a combined burglary and fire-rated unit, confirm both ratings are independently certified before buying.¹

Professional installation by a locksmith or safe engineer adds to the cost but ensures correct anchoring and proper operation, which matters when you need to access the safe in an emergency.

All costs include VAT. Prices vary by region and supplier.