Many house insurance policies offer discounts for installing a home security alarm in your house. The size of the discount may depend on a few factors, such as the type of alarm system and whether or not it is monitored. It’s worth checking with your home insurance agent before deciding on an alarm system.

It’s probably obvious why these discounts are offered – if your house is protected by an alarm, it’s a lot less likely the insurance company will have to pay you for theft or break-ins.

Some home security companies will do a thorough assessment of your home to see what areas are most vulnerable, and what type of system is best. Once you go ahead with their recommendations, they will issue a discount certificate to your insurance company to verify what has been installed.

This certificate lets the insurance company know exactly what type of equipment and services you are signed up for, and they can offer the appropriate discount.

The alarm system is not necessarily the only component that gets you a discount, though. In some cases, upgrading your locks might even apply for an insurance discount.

Other equipment such as fire & smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detectors may also qualify you for insurance discounts.

Whether you’ve been dealing with the same insurance company for years or are looking for a new one, it pays to talk to them about what discounts are available. They’ll be able to give you advice about what you can do to lower your insurance costs, while keeping your home and valuables better protected at the same time.

And if you already have an alarm system installed in your home, you might already qualify for those discounts, even if you’ve never taken advantage of them in the past.

It’s worth the few minutes to talk to your insurance agent – you just might end up saving enough to pay for the monthly security monitoring or other ongoing fees!

John Lenaghan writes about home security equipment and other security-related topics on the Home Security Guide website. For more information visit http://www.home-security-guide.com

If you have valuable property (jewellery, television sets, computers, other electronic equipment, etc.) in your home, if your home is left unattended for extended periods, while you are at work or away on vacation, or you just want more protection then you may want to consider installing a quality alarm system.

The FBI recently announced that over a ten-year period, on average 1 out of every 4 homes throughout the nation would be burglarized. These statistics mean that it makes sense to protect your home with a good home-security system.

There are many different burglar alarm systems available today, before you buy a particular system, your should give careful thought to what kind of system your want. This will stop you buying more than you actually need, while making sure that you obtain the level of protection you require.

Check out the different brands and types of systems, talk to friends and neighbors that have alarm systems and see what they have to say. I recommend that you get quotes from at least three security alarm companies about their product and service prior to purchasing any alarm system. But remember, the cheapest may well not be the best; you get what you pay for especially when it comes to home-security.

Choosing Your System.

Here are a few questions you might ask when considering an alarm system:

1. How will I know the right company to choose when considering an alarm system?

2. How much protection do I need?

3. How much will it all cost?

Tips to help you when choosing an alarm company

1. Ask about insurance. You need to check that the installer has adequate insurance this protects you! If the company is not properly protected, any claim or loss could become your responsibility!

2. Ask for the company’s city business license, which allows them to do business in your community.

3. Ask for referrals to other customers in your area that have had systems installed like the one being proposed to you.

4. Check your contract! Read it carefully before you sign; make sure everything is agreed upon in writing. Know what the warranty period is and what is included in the warranty.

5. Ask if the company has been established for at least 3-5 years. That’s not to say you shouldn’t use a new company but you might want to be more careful if you do.

6. Ask about the monitoring, is it going to be local or outside your state.

7. Make sure that the company does its own installation and down not subcontract work out.

We do not recommend any individual company, there are many excellent installers out there, but you do need to do your own research, remember it’s your home you are going to be protecting.

Now that we have covered the main physical details about protecting your home, in part seven I will start to cover some of the other things you should take into consideration.

For more vital home security tips and information about how to protect your home and family please visit http://www.homesecuritynews.info

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Unfortunately for us, home burglars view the holiday season a little differently. For them, it is a time of opportunity to burglarize your home for cash, credit cards, and all the new gifts of small electronics, computers, jewelry, and easily sold valuables.

Here are a few tips of what they look for when shopping for a house to burglarize. These tips will help you enjoy the holidays without incident.

•Burglars look for an easy entry with good escape routes. Don’t openly display your Christmas tree and gifts in the front window so it’s easily visible from the street. It’s too tempting for them to smash the window and grab the wrapped packages.

•Burglars look for occupancy cues like outdoor lights burning 24 hours a day, piled up newspapers, or advertising flyers hanging on the door knob. Use an inexpensive light timer when you are away and ask a neighbor to keep the front of your home clean of papers and debris.

•Burglars know to look for the hidden door key near the front entrance. Don’t hide spare keys under rocks, in flowerpots, or above door ledges. Instead give the spare key to a trusted neighbor.

•Burglars prefer to enter through unlocked doors or windows. Sliding windows that are not secure can be seen from distance. One holiday problem can occur when exterior Christmas light extension cords are run inside through a window and prevent it from being secured. Hire an electrician or handyman to install an inexpensive exterior outlet for your holiday lights.

•Don’t post your family name on your mailbox or on you house. A burglar can call directory assistance to get your telephone number and call your home while in front of your house to confirm that you are away.

•Don’t leave descriptive telephone answering machine messages like, “You’ve reached the Wilson’s…we’re away skiing for the Christmas holidays…please leave a message.” Burglars love to hear that they have plenty of time to break in and completely ransack your home.

•After Christmas day, don’t pile up empty gift boxes from your new computer, DVD player, or stereo receiver on the street for the garbage man. Burglars appreciate knowing that you have expensive gifts inside for them to steal. Break them down or cut them up to conceal the items better. After a lucrative burglary, the chances of being burglarized again are increased to steal the new replacement products.

•Last, but not least, fortify your home by installing solid core doors, heavy duty locks, longer screws in the lock strike plates and door hinges, and install secondary security devices on all accessible sliding windows. See my webpage on home security products and options.

http://www.usatotalsecurity.com