Do I Need to Store and Insure the Physical Gold I Buy?
There’s a huge misconception about buying physical gold: If I buy gold, I’ll have to take delivery of it and store it at home. Not only that, but I’ll also have to insure it.
That’s simply not the case!
A lot of dealers will not only sell you physical gold, but also store and insure it for you (but you must check with them that they can do this before you buy it!).
Why You Should Store and Insure Your Gold with a Vetted Dealer
If you’re thinking about investing in physical gold, here are some important reasons to choose a dealer who can take care of it for you.
1) Keep Your Physical Gold (and Home) Safe
If you did want to store your physical gold at home, you’ve got the additional cost of a safe. You’ve also got the anxiety of having something very valuable (that burglars want!) in your house which is very difficult to trace.
Professional storage facilities have advanced security systems, 24/7 monitoring, and are less vulnerable than a private home.
It’s also worth mentioning that you should have some protection from many disasters because vaults are often built to withstand fires, floods, and other natural disasters, which might damage or destroy home-stored gold.
2) Tailored Insurance Policies
Offsite storage often comes with or offers access to tailored insurance policies that fully cover the value of your physical gold.
Insuring gold stored in a professional vault is typically cheaper and more comprehensive than home insurance policies.
3) Easy valuation, taxation, and value planning
Reputable vault services provide detailed inventories and audit trails, which are useful for valuation, taxation, and estate planning.
I think it’s fair to say that gold held in a recognized vault can be more easily and quickly sold or traded, especially with custodians linked to bullion markets.
Professional storage can offer more anonymity than keeping assets at home, where others may become aware of your holdings when you buy physical gold.
4) Easy to Sell Your Physical Gold Back
If the gold has never left the premises (of the people you bought it from), they’ve got no reason to believe that it’s not genuine – making it easier to sell it back to them if you need cash.
Pro tip: Not all dealers offer this service, so double-check before you invest. I use Pure Gold Company, and they buy back any physical gold purchased and stored with them.
This can be particularly useful if you want the cash fast, you don’t have to spend time (and money) proving its authenticity.
5) Sell Your Gold Whenever Needed
Storing gold with a dealer can provide a source of cash because gold is usually very liquid. Pure Gold Company can normally sell my gold on the same day and get the cash in my bank account in a few days.
It’s great to have a source of cash that’s not only going up in value (as the gold price goes up), but is also “out of sight” but “within grasp.”
It's a great compliment to my other cash where the value is being eroded by inflation. The interest that I receive is less than my personal level of inflation.
Related: What 4 Factors Drive the Gold Price Up and Down?
6) Stop Overspending Your Savings
Holding physical gold can be a useful way of stopping you from spending money that is in other forms! As I’ve just mentioned, it’s “out of sight” – so when I look at my bank balance I’m not tempted to spend it – but “within grasp” – if I’ve got an important need for it, it’s there.
I find that this is particularly helpful from a stress management position. Knowing I’ve got something that I can convert to cash if I need it.
Where to Buy Physical Gold
It’s important to do your research and find a reputable dealer that you can rely on. As a professional investor, I buy physical gold from The Pure Gold Company.
They are affiliate members of the LBMA (The London Bullion Market Association) and members of the British Chamber of Commerce and the Royal Numismatic Society. They are also authorised distributors for the Royal Mint.
They offer free expert guidance on buying physical gold and fully certified bullion at competitive prices.
