SSAIB / NSI NON-approved alarm installer

ey143

I want to install a sophisticated alarm system and lighting system on property I am about to complete on.

On the Which consumer sight forum, some local people have used this individual, however, the installer himself has told me that although he has been in the business for 20 years, he is not on the association's list of approved people because he does not keep a shop (works from home) and does not want to pay the expense or deal with the burden of maintaining the strict paperwork that is required.

My question is, would you still use someone like that to install a sophisticated system even though you might have had an alarm installed professional but for insurance purposes it wont be NACOSS or the above industry approved type person. If several people have recommended him, this should be sufficient grounds to go ahead?

What do others think? Is being an approved or association recognised installer much more costly?

Myser

To be honest, if you have found a reputable person who has years of experience installing alarm systems, they are probably better than the larger companies who are NACOSS accredited but may employ junior/inexperienced staff etc.

You need to also check if there would be a significant cost saving on your home insurance if the alarm was installed by a NACOSS approved company.

The insurance companies will have many caveats when you notify them of an alarm system and claim a reduced premium, so check first.

ey143

Thanks for your replies.

Of course, that goes without saying that experience is important. But to choose between an approved or non approved it cannot be just the case that an approved person is paying for a nice industry association name. Is there really much more upside to have an approved person over a non approved part from insurance requirements?

Is it really true that a one man band who is not approved cannot get authorised himself for a reason / is not able to because or the difficulty/standard he is not capable of following, cost or something else?

DebbieR

My DH is SSAIB registered, has been since 2001. He registered purely because he wanted police response for his monitored alarms which you can't have unless you're registered with one of the approved bodies. He has three of his systems checked by the SSAIB every year and has to have public liability/failure to perform insurance. He also has to have any staff properly vetted. He has to make sure all his paperwork is up to scratch(well I do!) and has to issue a certificate of conformity for each system. My OH works from home - you don't need business premises to be registered but I can understand someone not wanting to be registered because of the paperwork side of it. We have to fill in about 8 different pieces of paperwork just to sign off an alarm system! Also check on what cover is provided if you have a fault. Will someone answer the phone when your alarm is going off at 3am? Having said that, don't let the fact that someone isn't registered put you off. If he's been going for 20 years and has good feedback on his work and you don't need police response he'll probably be fine for what you need.

ey143

Debbie/Myser,

Thank you both for your detailed and useful answers.