Home insurance alarm requirements

mrcheez

The wording on my home insurance says:

"Where a burglar alarm is installed as our requirement you hereby agree to maintain the installation in accordance with the suppliers recommendations and to have the alarm switched on and in service on all practical occasions."

Does this imply annual servicing or is it literally up to the individual alarm supplier whether or not it does?

kub

mrcheez wrote: »

The wording on my home insurance says:

"Where a burglar alarm is installed as our requirement you hereby agree to maintain the installation in accordance with the suppliers recommendations and to have the alarm switched on and in service on all practical occasions."

Does this imply annual servicing or is it literally up to the individual alarm supplier whether or not it does?

It means that the system has to conform with EN50131-1 2006 & the maintenance of same should conform with this standard.
So yes the system has to be regularly maintained.

mrcheez

kub wrote: »

It means that the system has to conform with EN50131-1 2006 & the maintenance of same should conform with this standard.
So yes the system has to be regularly maintained.

Are you sure? I asked the insurance people and they said there is no mention of EN50131 anywhere.

kub

mrcheez wrote: »

Are you sure? I asked the insurance people and they said there is no mention of EN50131 anywhere.

EN50131-1 2006 is the industry standard, there is nothing else.
Every alarm installation company in this country is licenced by The Private Security Authority, as part of the criteria for this license we have to ensure each and every alarm system which we install conforms with that standard.

Just to give you an example, we fitted an alarm system to a house 2 years ago. We were back at that house 3 months ago and carried out a routine inspection to the system.
All was perfect, that lady rang me last week and told me that she had been broken into, she did not have the alarm set. She contacted her insurers as she wanted to pursue a claim, however she got a little surprise, no alarm on then no insurance.
In my own experience of Insurance companies bar none....they look for loop holes to leave you high and dry in the event of a claim, therefore in my opinion EN50131-1 2006 is your friend.

mrcheez

kub wrote: »

however she got a little surprise, no alarm on then no insurance.

There's probably a big difference between the alarm not being on, and the alarm not being serviced annually, but I'll get a written confirmation from the insurance company on their stand regarding the required alarm standards and decide on the course of action there, but was curious to get feedback from here first. Thanks for the info.

When I was chatting to the insurer they said that if the alarm wasn't "up to the supplier's standards" then I would be treated as "not having an alarm" and would just lose the €50 discount and have to pay €50 excess on any claims.

Alarm isn't a requirement for the home insurance I'm on, so if the batteries failed, I would likely still be covered, but just wouldn't get as much back. Of course if the alarm wasn't set, then possibly the insurance would be voided so I'll check that with them too, although it probably defaults to the above situation where I'm regarded as "not having an alarm".

Question: is the "supplier" the alarm manufacturer, or the company that fitted the alarm?

KoolKid

Sounds like a bit of a vague answer. I would be looking for some clarification.
To be honest the discount you get for EN50131 is not worth it for the massive out you are giving the insurance company. After all, as the alarm has to be serviced every year all you are doing is giving the alarm company the discount.