You might be thinking of adding a home security system to increase the safety of your family, to discourage burglary, or just to have a better sense of control over the perimeter of your home or land - but there’s one additional reason for a home security system that you might have forgotten about. Most homeowner’s insurance policies become less expensive when the right type of home security system is installed. ADT offers home owners insurance certificate which save you up to 20% off your home owners insurance. Given the cost of home owners insurance today, and the fact that ADT’s Alarm Monitoring service is only about 1$ a day, the ADT Home Alarm Monitoring service can pay for itself.
The reason for that is fairly obvious; home security systems deter theft and reduce loss, and that means that the insurance company is less likely to have to make an expensive payout. In addition, homeowners who install home security systems tend to be the type of homeowners who go the extra mile in caring for and safeguarding their property, again translating into lower payouts for the insurance company. Insurance is a cost-driven business; when you lower the insurance company’s cost of doing business with you, it tends to lower your cost of doing business with them.
The exact amount of the discount you can expect varies depending on the insurance company. If your company doesn’t offer a discount at all, switch to one that does - there’s really no excuse for them not to. At minimum, most companies will offer a five percent discount on your premiums if you install deadbolt locks on all outside doors. You can get another five percent for installing a simple burglar alarm system. The total discount can go to 20% for installing a full-fledged home security system that is capable of calling police, fire, or security personnel automatically. Other discounts are available for adding things like carbon monoxide sensors, flood detection sensors, etc.
In addition to savings on your homeowner’s insurance premiums, picking the right homeowner’s insurance company can get you discounts on your home security costs! Many insurance companies these days are partnering with home security companies to encourage their customers to buy home security systems. For example, national insurance carrier USAA offers a 10% discount on ADT home security system installations for their customers with homeowner’s insurance policies. So not only can you save on the cost of your homeowner’s insurance, you can also save on the cost of the security system that gets you the discount in the first place. It’s almost like getting paid to cash your paycheck - it’s definitely a win-win for the homeowner. Ask your insurance carrier about the existence of incentive programs before you commit to a particular home security solution, and definitely inquire about their specific requirements for the home security system discount - you don’t want to install a system that comes up short of getting you the discount.
That sounds too good to be true. If 20% of your monthly home owner’s insurance bill is more than $30 you are basically getting a free home security service at the end of the day. I’ll check it out, but it seems like a clear choice for anyone living in any state where the insurance rates are as high as they are in Massachusetts. Thanks for the post!
I actually signed up for a home security service exactly for this reason. It did not cover it completely for me, but it came very close. I pay about $5 a month for my home security monitoring in Texas. Our rates are not as bad as in MA, but they are getting up there.
It seems this only makes sense for people who own their homes and plan on staying there for a few years at least. The contracts are long some are like 3 years or so I think. But, after I make my move this fall I will be looking into some sort of home security companies as well.
FYI I moved last year and was able to carry my home security service over to my new property. They even gave me a new free security system. There was an installation fee, but it was not very much… less than $100 I think.