While burglary rates have dropped steadily over the past few decades, this isn’t any consolation to people who have suffered break-ins. At least part of this drop in break-ins can be attributed to the fact that home security systems are more affordable and effective than in the past.
Burglars tend to target residences that offer an easy and quick entry. An alarm security system advertised outside the house lets the thief know that the house may not be worth targeting. Since only a small number of people have home security alarms, the burglar will tend to skip houses with them and find one that doesn’t.
Are Security Systems Worth It?
Some insurance companies offer a discount on your insurance premium if you have a monitored security alarm in place to reduce the cost. The cost of an alarm can be justified further when you consider that the average break-in costs $2,799 in losses. On top of that is the emotional cost, the cost to repair any damage to your home and perhaps increased costs in replacing locks and strengthening whatever weaknesses were exploited by the thief.
60% of convicted thieves say that they would tend to avoid a house with a noticeable security alarm and since only 17% – 23% of homes are believed to have an alarm, this means burglars have plenty of homes to choose from without this level of protection.
Home Alarm Costs
Condo/Apartment: Typical home alarm systems cost $15/month to start with for a basic package with no contract that would be good for a condo or apartment and that you install yourself. You may choose a more expensive package for around $40/month with a contact of 1 – 3 years.
House: For a home, expect to pay $15/month for a basic package similar to the condo one up to $60/month or more for a premium package with a 1 – 3 year contract. With a house, there is more to secure in terms of windows and doors but typically window sensors are only on the ground floor as are motion detectors.
Equipment costs: Up front one-time costs for self monitored equipment starts at around $100 and up and monitored higher end packages may incur a one-time fee of around $600 and up. The more sensors, cameras, motion detectors, etc you order the more you will pay.
Home alarm systems are more cost effective than ever and may no longer require a contract commitment so that you can pay monthly instead. The days of having to purchase $1,000 of equipment or more isn’t necessarily required either as it’s often included in the rental price and you might only want or need less equipment.
What Do You Need?
Depending on the type of building (house, condo, apartment), the size of the dwelling, location of the dwelling (high crime rate, low crime rate) and your budget, you typically have different options and packages to choose from.
Basic alarm system: Self monitored alarm that you manage yourself or monitoring from a company. Includes door sensors and window sensors, motion detector and alarm. A control panel inside the house to manage the alarm system is also included.
Mid range alarm system: Everything in the Basic option plus mobile phone app to monitor the system. Ability to view, arm and disarm alarm system remotely through your phone app. Home automation features such as controlling lights, thermostat. Smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector. Other (paid) features like water leak/flood detection, medical health option, etc.
Premium alarm system: Everything in Basic and Mid range options plus a doorbell camera and indoor camera, video streaming on your cellphone app and video record. A motion detector camera that begins filming the moment motion is noticed around your front door is a popular option with the video saved to the cloud for your records.
What Equipment Are You Getting?
For a condo or apartment, you’re most likely securing your front door and perhaps windows if you’re on the ground floor. For a house, it’s entry points like the front door, sliding door, garage door into the house and lower floor windows. Motion detectors are usually placed on the ground floor of a house to detect break-ins at the common points which are the doors and windows. You may not need nearly as much equipment as you think.
It’s kind of like when you see a training program advertised online where they still show a picture with 10 CDs, several large manuals, workbooks and other physical items (seriously, who still sells CDs?) and think you’re getting a great deal because of all the “stuff” included. If you see a photo of all the equipment for a security package, don’t be overwhelmed as you only need what you actually need.
Piece of Mind
Is a home security system worth it? The above quoted research suggests that a majority of thieves say they’d tend to avoid a home with a noticeable security system. Whereas older alarm systems that were connected to your home phone could be rendered useless by cutting the phone line, modern security systems are cellular and Internet-based which are far more reliable and offer more features at competitive prices.
If a thief asks are security systems worth it, they’d probably say yes based on this information alone. From a homeowner’s perspective it provides them and their residents piece of mind knowing that they are protected by an alarm that when monitored also means that a triggered alarm will be met by a response from the alarm company to confirm what is happening ie. A burglary? A false alarm? Something else?
When you add in other things that a modern security service can monitor for you such as smoke, carbon monoxide, extreme heat (fire), extreme cold (broken furnace), flooding and medical concerns, piece of mind is the minimum that it can offer.
Insurance Savings
Many insurance companies offer premium savings for a functioning approved home alarm system. The savings may not be significant but can help to partially reduce your monthly cost.
When you think about it, further insurance savings can be realized in theory by avoiding a break-in and thus avoiding having to make an insurance claim which also keeps rates down when you have a security system.
Summary
Something to keep in mind with security alarm systems is the total cumulative monthly cost, equipment cost and contract if any. Some companies offer attractive monthly rates but charge for every single piece of equipment which can increase the price significantly. Contracts then tie you in for 1 – 3 years. If equipment breaks or becomes obsolete, you have to replace it at your own expense.
Here are some further thoughts on both condo and apartment options for security which are cheaper and simpler than many home alarm systems but might also be good for some home owners, and are without a contract too.