home insurance + house alarms

hi
is there a certain standard a home alarm system must have before it is recognised by home insurance?
I am just asking because i was going to get the ones you plug in and they ring you when they go off, but there was no mention of any standards on the packaging?

Often you will get a discount for any old alarm and you will get a higher discount for an compliant alarm which is serviced annually.

Do remember that if you get burgled and the alarm wasn't activated (you pop out to the shop and think it will be fine), then the insurance company "might" not pay. These companies don't give discounts for free, and I personally don't think it's worth it.

Always felt a bit hard done by that insurance companies never gave me discount for my four legged alarm, my German Sheperd ! Best deterrent of all imho.

My brothers state of the art alarm system proved useless when the burglers pulled the box of the wall, dumped it in a bucket of water, broke in to his house and stole 7 grands worth of jewellery and were gone in 10 mins before the guards arrived !
That was a few years ago and since then he has gone the Rothweiller alarm route ! No discount from the insurance co. but he's never had a breakin since.

Has he (or his lady perhaps?) learned not to keep €7K worth of valuables sitting around the house too!? :eek

I've a (potentially) IS199 alarm system but I think it's a bit of a con.

It was IS199 for the first year as it was under warranty. Then the alarm company wanted to charge approx €150 p.a. to keep the alarm's IS199 status (part of the regs apparently). You'd be doing well to get a €150 discount from the insurance company.

The alarm company did concede that the IS199 standard was more relevant to commercial operations when I questioned them.