Bank Locker: Will You Receive 100 Times Compensation if Items Kept in a Bank Locker Are Lost? What Are the Rules?

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated on Monday that, in the event of a loss of items kept in a locker, a bank may provide compensation to the locker holder amounting to 100 times the annual locker fee.

Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha regarding compensation based on the full value of items stored in a bank locker, the Finance Minister explained that this limit has been established because the bank is unaware of the specific contents placed in the locker by the customer; furthermore, requesting information from a customer regarding the items stored in their locker would be a violation of banking confidentiality norms.

The Finance Minister further added that, since an item-wise valuation or insurance coverage is not feasible, a standardized compensation framework is implemented to provide restitution in the event of a loss of items stored in a bank locker. She noted that demanding individualized coverage would necessitate the disclosure of details regarding the stored items—a practice that is not permitted under banking regulations.

According to bank locker regulations, if items stored in a locker go missing due to incidents such as the bank's negligence, employee fraud, fire, theft, robbery, burglary, or looting, the bank is obligated to compensate the locker holder. This compensation is fixed at 100 times the annual fee charged by the bank for the locker facility.

For instance, if a bank charges an annual fee of ₹5,000 for a locker, it would be required to pay compensation of ₹500,000 to the customer in the event of a loss occurring due to any of the aforementioned reasons.

It is permissible to store items such as jewelry, loan documents, property deeds, birth and marriage certificates, insurance policies, savings bonds, and other confidential documents in a bank locker. Conversely, it is illegal to store cash, weapons, narcotics, explosives, perishable goods, radioactive materials, or any other items deemed hazardous within a bank locker.

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