Can Home Security Systems lower your Home Insurance Payments?
All of the ads that you see for home security systems play up the fact that you can save money on your home insurance by having one installed. In a lot of cases they make this sound like the prime reason to get one. So, can home security systems lower your home insurance payments? The answer is yes but usually not by as much as you would expect.
It should really come as no surprise to learn that you can lower your home insurance premiums with a home security system. After all the cost of insurance is based on risk, the more likely you are to get robbed the more you are going to pay for your insurance. There are a lot of factors that go into determining the cost of your home insurance, and robbery is actually pretty far down the list. Things that will do structural damage to the house are far more costly to the insurance company than a robbery so they are the things that most affect rates. Nevertheless the risk of robbery is used in calculating your home insurance rates and you can save money with a good home security system.
The amount that you save is going to depend in large part on the type of security system that you have installed. Generally the more sophisticated the more you are going to save. Things like motion sensors or cameras are good and will reduce your premiums but if you want to really save money on your home insurance you are going to have to install something more sophisticated. The biggest savings on your insurance are going to come with a fully monitored system that will protect you from both break ins and fire. This would be a system that would contact the police or the fire department directly if an alarm went off. These systems can save you up to twenty percent off of the cost of your home insurance.
Although a very sophisticated monitored system can reduce the amount that you pay in home insurance by a significant amount it is also very expensive to install and maintain. Remember with a monitored system you are going to have to pay for the monitoring every month. That doesn't mean you shouldn't get a security system installed it just means that you need to realistically assess the cost of the system versus the insurance savings. In all likelihood you will end up spending more on the security system than you save by having it. In a lot of cases it is still worthwhile just to have the piece of mind. However if you live in an area with a fairly low crime rate and you take other basic security precautions you probably don't need such an elaborate system. The choice is up to you but it is a good idea to get the advice of a security expert.