As Indians, we love gold. Gold symbolizes luck and prosperity, and we typically tend to buy it during festivals. However, the most auspicious day to buy gold is Dhanteras. Apart from being the first day of Diwali, Dhanteras is when people line up at jewellery shops to buy gold ornaments, coins, etc. While gold is an excellent investment, storing it safely is incredibly vital. Let’s understand how gold connects to Dhanteras and the many ways to safeguard your gold, including insuring it.

Astrologers predicted a serpent would bite and kill King Hima’s son at the age of 16. On the eve of his 16th birthday, King Hima’s son and his new bride hatched a plan to lay out all the ornaments and gold at the entrance of their sleeping chamber and block it. The couple stayed up all night, narrated stories and sang songs. When the serpent (an incarnation of the Hindu God of death – Yama) slithered in, it was blinded and dazzled by the jewels, gold, and stories. When dawn broke, it slithered away silently, sparing the young prince’s life.

Consider these tips to store your gold safely.

• Use a safe: Most wardrobes are equipped with safe boxes. Ensure you always keep your gold in a safe. You can purchase fireproof and waterproof safes for additional security and have them custom fit in your wardrobes. You can also purchase safe boxes that open only with biometrics or special passcodes.

• Keep it discreet: Be careful and vigilant when removing your gold from your safe. Avoid taking it out it in front of strangers or people you do not know or trust. Also, do not advertise that you have gold at home.

• Diversify: Avoid storing all your gold in one place. Find different not–too–obvious areas in your house to store the gold. Just ensure you remember where all the gold–hiding spots are and keep your confidant informed.

• Think like a thief: To know whether your hiding spot is clever enough, think how a desperate burglar would scan your home. Also, calculate how long it will take them to get to the gold.

• Use camouflage: If a bulky safe is inaccessible, use hard–to–move objects in your home to store your precious metals. They can be flowerpots or unused pipelines – essentially places that do not draw a burglar’s attention.

• Consider third–party storage facilities: It is always a good idea to have some gold at your disposal, but it is even better to store your gold safely away from home. For instance, you can keep your gold in safe deposit lockers offered by banks.

Natural calamities and human–made incidents are unpredictable, and your home and its contents may suffer collateral damage. However, you can get financial support for your home against such disasters with home insurance. A home insurance policy allows you to insure your valuables – jewellery, art, paintings, and other valuables. The insurer evaluates the valuables to determine the sum insured.

This Dhanteras, ensure you protect your gold, jewels, and other valuables by investing in home insurance.