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February 2004, Issue 19
Preventing False Alarms: Are You Doing Your Part?False alarms. The words are simple, the meaning anything but. Every year, false alarms take a financial toll on the security industry, police forces and in many cities costs are transferred to the alarm user. The causes of false alarms run the gamut from weather to equipment malfunctions to perhaps the most common, subscriber error. While this problem is sure to plague the industry for years to come, there are some preventative measures that you can take to help us fight the good fight against false alarms. Things to do once you have a system: Be sure that everyone who will use the system is properly
trained by the technician at the time of installation. We provide training &
manuals as required. Be sure that the monitoring station number is placed on or
near your phone. Choose a panel code (to arm and disarm) and a pass code (to
verify identity with station) that will be easy to remember. If you call the
monitoring station to cancel the dispatch of authorities following a false alarm
and do not remember your pass code, the police/fire/ambulance will be
dispatched. Make sure that the contact information (names, numbers…) and other
monitoring details that you’ve given to the monitoring station are kept up to
date. Make sure that your system is tested on an annual basis to ensure optimal
performance. We can set you up on our annual inspection plan if you like. False
alarms will continue to occur because it is impossible to eliminate them
completely but we can reduce them by taking reasonable precautions. True Steel Security Privacy Policy We will not distribute client lists or information to third
parties.
Free Fingerprint Kit Offer
When a child is missing, minutes count, and police need current information if they are to conduct an effective search. The new “Family Safety & Security Fingerprint Kit” gives police all the information they need. With space for a current photo, fingerprints, and physical ID data, the kit is a comprehensive resource in an emergency. Also designed to educate, the kit includes helpful safety and security tips for both kids and adults. For your free fingerprint kit call your local True Steel Security office.
Most alarm systems are set up to send us signals in case of an alarm as well as regular test signals to ensure that they are communicating properly. They can also be set up to send us signals every time they are armed and disarmed. These are called open and close logging signals.In addition to the logging of opens and closes we can provide what is called “supervised closings”. This helps to ensure that your premise does not go unprotected overnight. If you are supposed to arm the system by a certain time and we don’t get a closing signal, we call the premise to see if someone is staying in late. If nobody is at the premise then we call keyholders to notify them that the alarm was not armed. A report of all open and close signals received can be sent to clients on a weekly or monthly basis by e-mail, fax or mail. This service is often required by business owners who can not always be present for the daily opening and closing of their business but want to be sure that it is being opened and closed at the proper times. If you would like more detailed information about these services, please call the alarm monitoring station at (705) 673-8181 or (800) 465-4166. Insurance Discounts and Conditions Most insurance companies offer discounts of 5-15% for homeowners who have monitored burglar and/or fire alarm systems. If you currently have a monitored system and are not getting a discounted insurance rate you may wish to call your insurance company to look into this. On occasion, clients cancel their alarm monitoring. You must notify your insurance company if you disconnect monitoring. In the past, if a person put in a claim with their insurance company and the company believed that there was a monitored alarm at the premise when there was not, they would reduce the payment of the claim to the client by the amount of the discount that they had extended for having a monitored system. If they gave you a $150 discount on your premium, then they would take back up to $150 from your claimed amount. We have been informed that this policy is being changed for the insurance industry as a whole. Insurance companies will now reduce the payment for the claim by the same percentage as the discount that they were providing. If you put in a claim for $100,000 and you were receiving a 15% discount on your insurance because your carrier thought you had a monitored system but you did not, your payment may be reduced by $15,000.00! United Way Payroll Deduction Campaign A Success
United Way Staff stop by our office to express their gratitude for our great campaign. Each Northern Communications/True Steel Security office and its employees support various charities financially and/or by volunteering. Every year our Sudbury office participates in the United Way Payroll Deduction. Our donations and participation level increase every year. This year’s campaign result is that we will be donating 24% more total dollars in 2004 than we did in 2003. The percentage of employees participating in the campaign is 35%. That’s a 7% increase in participation over last year. We’ve done it again, significant increases in both total dollars and percentage of participation. We’ve set the bar awful high for next year’s campaign but I think that we have learnt at this point not to doubt that we will beat this mark yet again. Northern Communications and True Steel Security congratulate their staff for their generous response to the United Way campaign and other charitable organizations. Your generosity has gone a long way to help those in need during 2003 and will do so again in 2004.
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