fastalarms

No probs I will ask at Garduner when I go get a system to play with first.

Oh and lastly ... I have been on the coopersecurity site but there are no installation manuals to download for the i-on16. I wish to start installing this system but xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Many thanks Mark http://www.thesecurityinstaller.co.uk/comm...p;f=14&id=8

I knew when I first posted that I would recieve posibly a frosty reception I even said so on the first post that it was likely to be a baptism of fire. However I am very pleased to see that I have also found a place where I will be able to get good advice when needed. I have had a more positive response than negative so thanks to all for that. I am in a catch 22 situation , even when I start adding the 6662 grade 2x systems I will still be battling against convention as insurers will insist on NACOSS or SSIAB to their policy holders so I will still have to try and work on price to gain business. its going to be another tough year and I will probably need to get a day job and run the alarms evenings and weekends until I reach that stage. With the YALE stuff I only need to double my current level of installs to have a secure footing but wether that is possible I don't know as the market size is unknown to me as a newby. certainly some weeks I get six to do and then other weeks I get zilch. Certainly the home alarm business is suffering from the credit crunch right now thanks to less people moving home. 50% of my clients are people who have been burgled the rest was split 25/25 with people who had moved house or people who decided they wanted am alarm before they get burgled. The people moving homes part has definately tailed off and certainly some alarm companies near me who were running a few vans and staff installing to new build estates with contracts will be laying off staff and activily seeking the same private clients I will be trying to get with the 6662 stuff I will be offering so I don't think it will be an easy ride. Onse again thanks for your advice..you will be hearing from me when I get stuck installing a powermax. The one thing that is for sure is they won't be as easy to install as the YALE. I hear the scanny ion16 is an easy install so hopefully my local supplier will have those in stock too. Mark

To all. I am reviewing the advice I give to clients. Legally it still does seem to stack up but I may alter the wording to make sure I am not unintentionally placing anyone in a potentially worse position. I will get the advice of some loss adjusters and insurance companies on Monday. The comparison I have posted up on my site was not actually made by myself but was helpfully (for me) provided by the alert me group whose comparison chart actually made the YALE system look better. I agree it is apples and pears. The YALE pir is a one size fits all solution and doesn't meet the need of every scenario, If there are specific environmental issues then the YALE may not perform exactly as a bespoke solution would. Fortnuately by dealing with domestic properties those situations are rare and are worked round as neccessary. I have indeed suggested to clients if I don't think the system would cope due to distances between pirs etc that they really need someone else in and have walked away from money I could have taken. I thank you all for your concerns even those I have hit a loggerhead with. Thanks for pointing me to the best wholesaler for the 6662 sytems also I just hope I can still provide something within reach of my existing client base financially. Mark This is the legal advice I have been given so far.. An Insurer can only decline a claim on the grounds of Non Disclosure of Material Fact if that non disclosure has a direct connection with the cause of the claim. This is enshrined in the FSA Regulations, which FOS use as basis for their adjudications. If your policy does not carry an alarm warranty,then no insurer can sucessfully decline because you have fitted an alarm, and then not set it.

Whatever the truth was. I am not a dishonest person. besides every Nacoss approved 6662 system should have a viewable fault log so it would be foolish to lie. There would be no reason to lie as the alarm wouldn't be a condition of the insurance.

I don't intend to stop here RJB I do want to give the best advice I can. I am currently trying to find legal precedent for this in another forum who have lawyers on board. If any of my customers called their insurance to say they had an alarm fitted. The insurers would ask is it NACOSS My customers would say no it isn't The insurers would then say you can't get a premium reduction for that as it isn't approved. What is the scenario then. The policy continues as before or the insurance then tell the client their insurance is now void. If the insurance refuse to accept the system how can they then refuse a claim because it wasn't set. I would even go one further and even if I had a NACOSS system installed and serviced I would not tell my insurers. I have teenage kids and I wouldn't trust them 100% to set it every time. Hi RJB, I have just recieved the legal definative answer. The question of wether cover would be withheld is down to 'material changes' in the policy. That is to say that if anything changes from how the policy contract was agreed the insurers need to be informed. But that is in respect of any change being detrmental to the original contract. Ie having a new patio door fitted that doesn't have a BS lock when the original one did. To withold the claim the insurance would have to prove that any material changes made were to the detrement to security and would have to prove that the changes made the property a higher risk. It was suggested by the lawyer then any insurance company would find it very difficult to prove that adding an alarm added to the risk.

The case re Cilla black is totally different I am afraid. In her case having window locks fitted was a condition of her insurance. You can get home insurance without having an alarm and where having an alarm is not a condition. I hardly think any insurer could acuse you of not taking reasonable care if you have an alarm fitted that is not part of your policy conditions in fact they would see that you had taken extra care. Conditions of my own insurance are 5 lever mortice locks to BS and window locks which I have. My alarm isn't NACOSS but was installed by the electrician who rewired the house. I haven't got my alarm in as a condition of my policy because my insurers wouldn't accept a non NACOSS alarm therefore I currently do not benefit from any reduction in my premium for having an alarm. The insurers can't have it both ways. They cannot insist on NACOSS and if someone tries to get a premium reduced refuse it but then magically want to 'include' the alarm when it suits them. With all due respect I belive you are wrong on this issue.

hmmm the answer is not as clear cut as it seems. Just been looking at some online insurance quote sites and the questionaires differ wildly. Some don't even ask if you have an alarm before offering your quote. Some ask wether you have a NACOSS service contract and some wether you simply have an alarm or not.

I am not telling them NOT to tell the insurance company they forgot to set it. I am telling them it may pay not to tell the insurance comany they have an alarm. They are more than welcome to tell the loss adjuster that they forgot to set the alarm when he asks but since it isn't a part of the the contract it cannot be held against their claim. If there is no requirement under your insurance policy to have an alarm set because you haven't claimed a premium reduction or the insurance company haven't specified you need an approved alarm then the alarms failure either by failing to set or malfunction cannot be held against a claim. If I have something wrong here does anyone have any actual case file notes or precedent. .

Thanks fella , I still don't understand how installing an alarm and not telling your insurance would lead you open to their refusing a claim. If they had fitted one of my alarms and then claimed it was NACOSS I could understand a big problem. I am not telling them to defraud or decieve their insurance company. I am just pointing out that if you fit an alarm and don't tell your insurance you are then safe from any accusations of failing to set it. Having an alarm fitted unless you are claiming an insurance reduction is no more notifiable than changing a light fitting. Unless there are any legal bods on here who could shed light on this?

With all due respect I totally fail to see where your logic is coming from. Are you actually saying that fitting a YALE alarm actually INCREASES your chances of being burgled. Are you suggesting that anyone who fits a YALE alarm as a DIY fit has voided their insurance? There is no fraud in telling a client that he is better not to have an alarm listed on their policy as if they fail to set it could predjudice a claim. Its common sense. If they want an alarm the insurance needs to approve or one that will get them a premium reduction I tell them to go NACOSS. I didn't expect an easy ride in here but I didn't expect to have every stone turned looking for any crumb of discredit no matter how implausible. I simply said the YALE alarms aren't as bad as you guys make out. I said they fit a niche in the Market I asked for the details of a scantronic 1on16 wholesaler (which noone has supplied so I assume you don't really want me to 'better myself') I haven't criticised you guys Many of your alarm companies in their seminal days will have had all sorts of bodges done to save a buck I am sure plenty of you giys who have been in the game long enough can tell me stories that you laugh about but would make an NSI inspectors hair curl. I don't need any slack cutting I am a big boy now.

Holidays? can't afford them..yet re the second point I meant has a professional installed one to see how they operate or to see how a well installed one performs.

I can't help the 8 months I am a startup! After 12 months unless you supply a system with a longer manufacturers warranty you too would only replace faulty items on a basis of cost plus an installation fee on a time paid basis. You are all businesses. YALE are covering the 12months warranty and have replaced FOC the only item that has failed to date without question. YALE have suggested a battery replacement in 2-6 yrs for the systems so they must have some faith in their longevity. I am the man who goes when needed at 3am as my clients despite what you are suggesting are important to me. Out of interest has any professional installers ever installed a 6000 series yale either a 6300 or 6400? You seem to have missed the bit where if they ask for insurance approved systems I point them towards an approved installer. You also have missed the bit where if they approach their insurance it wouldn't be an accepted alarm anyway. By not lodging the alarm with the insurer they have in fact belt and braces.

I meant the owners woudn't keep up with their service contracts not that engineers wouldn't replace batteries.. jeez..lol I am making a mess of this aren't I. For the record I am noy criticising pro installs or installers