Redefining the term ” Home Security “

As a homeowner I have come to learn that the term ” Home Security ” is actually about much more than protection from a burglary. A recent letter from my home insurance company reminded me of the importance of home monitoring. The letter from my insurance company thanked me for my loyal business and then informed of a change in their policy. Going forward, any claims for damages as a result of water (flood) to my home would now be subject to a $2000 deductible. It is safe to assume that I’m not alone and many homeowners have received a similar letter. I have never filed a damage claim of any kind let alone for water damage. After receiving this letter I did some research, and discovered that water damage is by far the most common reason for Insurance damage claims. I also discovered that in Canada water damage is often caused by a frozen pipe that has burst.

So what does this have to with Home Security? Let me tell you. The benefit of a monitored alarm is that I have trained professionals that can respond to situations… when I cannot. Installing a flood sensor in the laundry room and a low temp sensor with my smoke detector did add to my initial alarm installation cost, but it was only a fraction of what an insurance claim would cost. Adding the low temperature sensor to my system will hopefully give me plenty of notice to prevent any frozen pipes and any damage, the flood sensor will notify me of leak before it becomes a flood. Yes I still consider my Alarm System as protection against Burglary, but for that real sense of security, I take comfort in knowing that I’m also ‘protected’ against other threats including, flood, freeze, carbon monoxide and fire.