Choosing a Burglar Alarm Installer

Unless you have received a personal recommendation, choosing who is going to install your burglar alarm system can be and will seem somewhat daunting at times. Searching the internet or your local yellow pages will present you with a wide choice of similar and comparable installers, all seeming to meet with your requirements and be the answer to your search.                                                                                                                                                          
Included within any search will always show up a list of your local burglar alarm installers including electricians and electrical contractors who will offer to install your burglar alarm system. These companies and individuals unless they are SSAIB or NSI approved continually fail to disclose to the general public that their burglar alarm installations do not and will not meet the installation standards required by the Insurance Industry, The Police or the European Alarm Installation Standard EN50131.

This fact will only become apparent when your insurance company requests your certificate of compliance and grading certification which are now statutory documents together with a risk assessment, for any burglar alarm system installed today.

These are some the questions you should now ask to be confident of making an informed decision.

Reputation – How Long have you been in business?

A company that has been in business for some time will be well-tested and have a relatively large customer base. It is also more likely to weather a difficult economic climate and less likely to fold leaving you repeat your selection process or write-off any of your investment.  How many customers does it have and can they provide you with customer testimonials?

Have they undertaken any recent burglar alarm installations in the neighbourhood and can you contact them!

Insurance – Are They Insured to Install My Burglar Alarm?

When selecting any trade or profession to work at your home or business one should always check their approvals and more importantly the level and type of business insurance cover they hold, before you employ them. With burglar alarm companies being no different from any other professional trade or service they too have to hold the correct type insurance cover to work in their industry, which is something people may overlook when selecting their alarm installer.

What are the Various Types of Business Insurance?

1. Public Liability Insurance  – To Protect the General Public
2. Employers Liability Insurance - To Protect the Company Employees
3. Efficacy Liability Insurance – To Protect the Customers Alarm Installation – Should it Fail

While all companies should hold Public & Employers Liability Insurance cover, it is “Efficacy” insurance cover that most people fail to check before the start of burglar alarm installation. This insurance cover which is compulsory for all SSAIB or NSI burglar alarm companies is there to protect their clients against any financial loss they may incur should any burglar alarm installation under the installers control fails to activate correctly, in the event a burglary at that location.

Our advice is simple: 

1. Only use a fully Approved Alarm Installer
2. Insist on a SSAIB or NSI Approved Installer
3. Check with your Crime Prevention Officer
4. Check with your Insurance Company
5. Check their Insurance Cover

Survey – Do they provide a written Quotation & System Proposal?

You will be surprised by some of the answers you will receive when you ask this question. All approved burglar alarm installation companies should ask for a full site survey to carry out a risk assessment or a risk analysis of the risks to you and your property, as nobody can guess your requirements or level of risk from a telephone call. The outcome of a risk assessment together with your own expectations will form the basis of your system design proposal, which will clearly define the areas at risk and what grade of installation and method of notification the alarm installation company are proposing.

Validation – What are their Industry Accreditations?

All trades and professional organisations will have their own trade bodies and associations. The burglar alarm industry being no different for any other trade has either the SSAIB or the NSI, as the countries national burglar alarms inspectorates approved by both the Insurance Industry and the Police Forces within the UK.

These inspectorates are there to ensure that your interests are protected at all times. This is achieved by allowing only those alarm installation companies that can meet their standards in terms of quality of workmanship, a clear understanding of the current alarm standards and that the company and their staff are fully vetted on an annual basis by their local Police force. This alone should show you that this is something electricians and non-approved alarm companies will continually fail to disclose to their clients.

Repairs – What level of ongoing Alarm Testing & Repairs are available?

All burglar alarms regardless of their grade or type of notification are now regularly tested in line with the European Alarm Standard EN50131. Since its introduction in 2005, all systems should be tested on a regular basis – Audible 12 Monthly – Digital 6 Monthly. Installation companies must provide a 24 hour emergency cover 24/7 with a maximum 4 hour response time or before the premises has to close. All approved alarm companies must also publish their various callout and testing charges together with their emergency call out charges and repair charges, once their initial guarantee has expired.

Alarm Equipment – What is the Make & Model – Alarm Equipment Grade?

Again this is an area of discussion as most systems will comprise of the following equipment – A Control Panel with a number of Remote Keypads – Internal and External Warning Sounders – Door Contacts on the Main Exit/Entry Doors – Detection Sensors located in various areas of the premises, with the option of a number of methods of communication or notification to inform others away from the premises that an alarm activation or a fault has developed. For systems installed under the EN50131 Standard all equipment specified must be of the same quality and hold the same level grading.[see Alarm Grades & Standards]

This will ensure that the grade of the alarm installation and the grade of alarm equipment will always be commensurate to the level of the perceived risk at your premises, this in layman’s terms means that the proposed grade of alarm installation, the level of risk and grade of alarm equipment will be the same.

Notification – What are my Options?

By employing an approved burglar alarm installation company they are the only alarm installers that have the authority to offer the remote signalling of your burglar alarm system.

With the new burglar alarm installation comes notification, which is the method of signalling selected by your alarm company in their risk assessment to relay the alarm signals from your installation, this can be a local sounder where their perceived level of risk to the property is low or at the other end of the scale where there is a higher risk to both the property and the occupants then the type of notification would involve notification to an alarm receiving centre, when a Police response is required.

Again only those companies that are Police approved and are members of one of the Alarms Inspectorates are able to obtain a Police URN for the remote monitoring of any burglar alarm system.

Glossary of Terms:

• SSAIB – Security Systems & Alarms Inspection Board – Member No. NIRE 007
• SSAIB Certificate of Compliance – Proof that the system meets all current standards
• NSI – National Alarms Inspection Board
• PSNI – Police Service of Northern Ireland
  
• URN – Unique Reference Number – Police reference number for that location
  
• EN50131 – The Current Alarm Installation Standard
  
• BS4737 – Obsolete Alarm Installation Standard since 1st October1995
  
• Risk Assessment – Full Site Survey of Your Premises
  
• System Design Proposal – Full written description of the proposed equipment and location
  
• System Quotation – The total alarm installation cost including annual fees and charges

Any more Questions ……………..Just Ask!