To purchase the right safe, choices have to be made. The correct names “burglary resistant safe” and “fire resistant safe” are unfortunately too long for daily use and are shortened to safe in general. The product group can be divided further into 3 categories: fire-resistant, burglary-resistant and fire and burglary-resistant.
When it comes to certification, in general we work with two different European standards for tested and certified safes, EN14450 and EN1143-1.
For Home & (small) Office safes the European standard EN14450 has been developed.
For high security safes EN1143-1 is the European standard.
Security (insurance) rating
This indicates the amount of cash and valuables that can be expected to be covered by the insurance underwriters when items are locked in a safe which is secured in an appropriate way.
However, depending on the security measures taken in the location where the safe is installed, insurance underwriters are at liberty to decide on a different level of cover to these indicated here.
The Association of Insurance Surveyors (AiS) approve all safes that meet ECB.S or LPCB certification. Look for the AiS logo to help identify those safes.
EN14450
The standard has been mainly developed for safes to be used in small- and home office situations. Test according this standard are resulting in so called Security Level 1 and 2.
| Classification | Insurance rating | Valuables rating |
| Security Level 1 | £2,000 | £20.000 |
| Security Level 2 | £4,000 | £40,000 |
EN1143-1
This standard has been developed for high security safes. These safes are tested by an independent test institute. Tests at these institutes for burglary resistance are conducted by experienced and qualified testers with relevant knowledge and skills. The results of their attempts to open the safe in combination with time and used tools will be translated into Resistance Units (RU’s). By the number of RU’s the correct grade will be determined.
| Classification | Insurance rating | Valuables rating |
| Grade 0 | £6,000 | £60,000 |
| Grade 1 | £10,000 | £100,000 |
| Grade 2 | £17,500 | £170,500 |
| Grade 3 | £35,000 | £350,000 |
| Grade 4 | £60,000 | £600,000 |
| Grade 5 | £100,000 | £1,000,000 |
| Grade 6 | £150,000 | £1,500,000 |
Fire resistance
Fire resistant products are made to ensure that the inside temperature of the safe or cabinet does not exceed the temperature at which paper or data will be damaged. At a temperature of 175C paper can be damaged or even perish.
If you want to have your documents protected in case of a fire, we recommend you buy a safe with a tested fire protection for paper.
The critical limit for digital and magnetic data is about 50C. For this, data media safes are developed. This kind of safes not only protect against fire, they are also protection against moisture, dust and soot particles.
The most common tests are:
· EN 1047-1 (S60P and S120P for paper / S60DIS and S120DIS for data.
1 or 2 hour fire test at a temperature up to 1090 C and a drop test of 9,15 meter.
· EN 15659 Light Fire Safe (LFS) (LFS30P and LFS60P for paper)
30 min or 1 hour fire test at a temperature up to 850 C. No drop test.
· NT Fire 017 (60P, 90P and 120P for paper / 60DIS, 90DIS and 120DIS for data)
1, 1 ½ or 2 hour fire test up to 927 C. No drop test.
· UL 72 (class 350 for paper / class 125 for data)
30 min, 1 or 2 hour fire test at a temperature of 1090 C and a drop test of 9 meter.
DIN4102
This is a construction norm. The products are double walled with a fire insulation in between. These products are not tested and just offers a first protection against fire.