Expertise
Certified Safes Ireland™ advisor Alan Donohoe Redd is part of the CEN263 Working Group responsible for writing European Standards for safes and vaults for the European Union
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The importance of legally accredited European certification
Accredited European certification is the basis for all insurance rate recommendations for safes in Europe (excluding UK) and provides a legal proof of standard of burglary and fire resistance for safes, secure cabinets, and strongrooms. EU Parliament regulation 765/2008 created the system that provides the legal basis of accreditation for the burglary resistance certification of safes and cabinets to:
- European standard EN1143-1 - the burglary resistance certification for safes
- European standard EN1143-2 - the burglary resistance certification for deposit safes
- European standard EN15659 - the protection of paper documents from fire
- European standard EN1047-1 - the protection of data from fire
- European standard EN14450 - the burglary resistance certification for cabinets
The ultimate protection against misrepresentation, when there is a need to ensure a secure storage product is suitable for a given risk or for regulatory compliance purposes such as the protection of important GDPR related documents or data, anything less than accredited European certification and the legal proof of standard it provides can leave an organisation or consumer vulnerable.
The relationship between legally accredited European burglary resistance certification and insurance cover
With the exception of the UK, insurance rate recommendations throughout Europe are sourced from the insurance industry itself and provide a guide for both insurers and consumers in selecting a safe suitable for a given level of risk. In Ireland, the only source of insurance limit recommendations in relation to cash and jewellery cover for certified safes, sourced directly from the insurance industry, are Irish Safes Rating Group rates. Although you may encounter alternative and often highly inflated rates advertised by some safe sellers, especially when it comes to jewellery cover, such speculative marketing rates have no basis in reality and are a good indication of the overall reliability of a supplier. Official insurance rate recommendations in all European countries only apply to safes with accredited European certification of burglary resistance to European standard EN1143-1 as a legal proof of standard.
Accredited European certification marks
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Recommended rates of insurance cover rise in line with certified burglary resistance grade of a safe, which can range from 0 to VI, as ascertained by an accredited European testing laboratory and subsequently certified by a completely independent accredited certification body, however, the final rate of cover is subject to the overall risk assessment of the insurer, while basic requirements are a monitored intruder alarm is installed on the premises where the safe is located and the safe is anchored correctly.
Irish Safes Ratings Group recommended rates
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What legally accredited burglary resistance certification looks like
A safe with properly accredited European certification of burglary resistance will display at least one stamped metal certification plate on the inside of the door. This will always be a stamped metal plate, never a sticker and will display the word "SAFE" and the standard EN1143-1 alongside the logo of an accredited European certification body (not the manufacturer). In the case of ECB-S and VdS certification plates, ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation will be annotated. The same information is also available on an accredited certification document which should always be asked for.
What legally accredited fire resistance certification looks like
A unit with accredited European certification of fire resistance will display a stamped metal plate with the words "Light Fire Storage Unit" and the standard EN15659 for paper documents, or the words "Data Cabinet" and the standard EN1047-1. Whereas the EN15659 standard is only revelevant to paper documents, under the EN1047-1 standard a unit may be certified for paper documents or data, and this will be clearly marked. This plate will often appear alongside a separate certification of burglary resistance. In the case of ECB-S VdS certification plates, ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation will be annotated.
Certification documents
An accredited European certification document certifying the burglary or fire resistance of a safe or cabinet should always be asked for when purchasing either product. This document should match the product details displayed on the products metal certification plate and most importantly, confirm that the body issuing the certificate of compliance is accredited to ISO/IEC 17065, your legal assurance that the certifier is properly accredited under European law, providing a legal proof of standard. Of course, when it comes to product certification plates and certificates of conformity there will always be suppliers who will try and pass off a variety of plates, documents, approvals and guarantees as the genuine article, so it is important to always look for the logo of an accredited European certification body and the ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation for long term peace of mind.
WARNING
UK Marks not to be confused with a legal proof of standard of burglary resistance for safes in Europe.
With the proximity of the UK to Ireland, consumers and insurers regularly encounter baseless claims and misinformation regarding the burglary resistance testing, certification and the insurance rating of safes coming from the other side of the Irish Sea.
Below are some logos to watch out for on "certification" plates, stickers and documentation and a brief explanation of what each one means:
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The BRE's Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) (UK)
(Top left)
| Part of the UK’s Building Research Establishment (BRE) The Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) is a mark commonly encountered on safes and cabinets in the Irish market despite the fact LPCB has never been an accredited certification body for the burglary resistance of safes, not even in the UK, according to the United Kingdom Accreditation Service UKAS. Additionally, LPCB claim to certify their own tests, something that would never be allowed in an accredited testing and certification process due to the obvious potential for bias, an approch bourne out by Phase 2 of the UK Governments Grenfell Inquiry which had the following to say about BRE testing and certification when it came to fire resistant panels. “BRE was complicit in a strategy to manipulate testing, misrepresent test data and mislead the market”. Seventy-two people died in the Grenfell Tower fire on 14th of June 2017 with BRE “tested and certified” cladding panels being identified as a primary cause of the rapid fire spread. |
Secure by Design (UK)
(Top right)
| If you are unfamiliar with SBD’s "Police Preferred" scheme, it claims to guide the public to “member companies and their accredited products”, while allowing members to use its “coveted Police Preferred logo for sales and marketing purposes.” For a fee of course. While SBD claims to offer “a recognised standard for products”, SBD's accreditation scheme also provides a way for UK suppliers to circumvent accredited burglary resistance testing and certification processes when it comes to safes for which UK and European burglary resistance standards already exist, enabling the marketing of products that have no accredited proof of burglary resistance as UK "Police Preferred. When displayed on a safe the Secure by Design mark has no bearing on suitability for any purpose. |
Sold Secure (UK)
(Bottom left)
| Owned by the UK's Master Locksmiths Association, Sold Secure says on its website that it is "the premier testing and certification house" yet similar to LPCB has never being accredited to either test or certify safes by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service UKAS. A Sold Secure claim to certify to any official European Safe Standard (EN1143-1), UK Safe Standard (BS EN1143-1), European Secure Cabinet Standard (EN14450) or UK Secure Cabinet Standard (BS EN14450) has no accredited backing whatsoever. Additionally Sold Secure have their own grading system for safes, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, also unaccredited. |
Association of Insurance Surveyors Ltd (UK)
(Bottom right)
| Both the Association of Insurance Surveyors Ltd "AiS Safe Rating List" and "AiS Approved" sticker might sound like products of the insurance industry but are actually marketing vehicles for completely untested safes as well as pre-2000 second-hand safes which should be presumed to contain asbestos, such units being assigned “recommended insurance rates” in the AIS Safe Rating List alongside properly certified safes giving untested and potentially dangerous second-hand safes the appearance of comparability.
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For Free, Confidential Expert Advice Call: +353 1 7076011
Certified Safes Ireland™ in-house advisor on keeping jewellery, watch collections, goods, cash, documents and data, safe, secure, yet readily accessible, is Alan Donohoe Redd.
Alan Donohoe Redd is an expert member of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) Working Group responsible for writing European Standards for safes, strongrooms (vaults), secure cabinets and physical data protection for the European Union and an expert for U.S. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Standards Technical Panel TC72 covering standards for fire resistance of record protection devices. Alan is also a registered NATO supplier and the longest standing member of the Frankfurt based European Security Systems Association (ESSA) in Ireland.
Alan has a vast range of experience spanning over 40 years encompassing installation of safes, strongrooms, physical data protection, firearms security, secure storage of pharmaceuticals, security doors and equipment used for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) in government, military and I.T. sectors. He has provided advice to the U.S. Air Force (Europe), An Garda Síochána (Irish Police Service), the Danish Police, and for government projects concerned with high level cyber, physical data and counter electronic eavesdropping security.
An expert on standards and fraud issues related to secure storage in Europe, the UK, and the historical use of asbestos in UK and European safe and cabinet manufacturing, Alan has advised top UK and US law firms and has had articles on standards, fraud and safety issues published by The Law Society Gazette and Irish Broker Magazine as well as being pivotal in having misleading standards and practices recognised and withdrawn in Ireland, the UK and at a European legislative level. Alan has forced retractions of dozens of false claims related to secure storage offerings to the public including some published by the Irish Times in relation to Merrion Vaults and Lloyds of London.
Alan's seminars on safes, strongrooms and high net worth secure storage have been part of Continuing Professional Development for underwriters and insurers having been awarded CPD points by the Insurance Institute of Ireland and the Chartered Insurance Institute (UK).
Alan's expertise has been relied on by:
N.A.T.O. Europe, The U.S. Air Force (Europe), An Garda Síochána (Irish police service), The National Treasury Management Agency (Ireland), The Department of Communications (National Cyber Security Centre) (Ireland), The Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland) The Revenue Commissioners (Ireland), Electricity Supply Board (Cyber Security) (Ireland), The Danish Defence Forces (Afghanistan), PayPal (Worldwide), Grant Thornton, The Insurance Institute of Ireland, The Chartered Insurance Institute (UK), The Royal College of Surgeons, BFC Bank, Interxion Data Centres, Isle of Man Gold Bullion, Brown Thomas, Bvlgari, Boodles, Druids Glen, The Shelbourne Hotel, and many others ....
Standards
All of our safes have accredited European certification of burglary resistance, essential legal proof of standard to maintain insurance cover long term
Documentation
Accredited burglary resistance certification documents are provided with all of our safes. A certificate of anchorage is available on request for all safes we install
Insurance Liaison
We are uniquely qualified to liaise with your insurer regarding certification, alarm integration, or general risk assessment related to your choice of secure storage
