On Friday, 15 February 2013 15:13:26 UTC, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:08:11 +0000, Toby Sleigh wrote:



Hope someone can help.....

We have a Friedland SA5 6 zone wireless alarm system that I installed

approx five years ago, and have maintained since. This unit is very

similar to Yale wireless alarms so one or othe is probably a rebadged

version. Anyway we've recently changed house building & contents

insurer. Our new insurer is insisting that there is a maintenance

contract in place. I've been phoning round & consistently failing to

find a company who will take on a diy installed system.



Are there security companies out there who will maintain diy installed

alarms? or will I have to give up & get an equivalent approved system

installed at vast unnecessary expense. Location is Ealing, West London.



IME any discount gained by having a burglar alarm is minimal. Best say

you haven't got one. Especially since if you have got one, but had a

break in when it was off (e.g. you were at home) they may not pay up.

I've often wondered whether there was any correlation between having / not having an alarm and being burgled. Certainly isn't something I'd ever bother to have fitted, unless there was a very compelling financial case which saved me more than enough money on the fitting cost compared to the discounts on the insurance (which I doubt is an equation which works in practice).

Much as I'd hate to imagine either arriving home with the possessions gone, or waking up in the night with an intruder around, I still consider it sufficiently unlikely to occur that its not worth spending £500-£1000 on (in addition to insurance!!)

Matt