Did you know that in 2002, there were 2,151,875 burglaries in the United States? Compared to other countries, the burglary incidents in the United States make up over 26% of the world’s total.
Many people mistakenly believe that the majority of burlgaries take place at night. However, according to the FBI, 60% of burglaries take place during the daylight hours. This means that burglars most likely target homes that are left vacant while families are either at work, school or running errands. About 69% of burglars acutally enter through the front door, usually by damaging or infiltrating the lock. In the majority of cases, it takes a burglar less than 60 seconds to gain entry to a home.
According to statistics, a burglary takes place in the United States every 12 seconds.
Evaluating the Cost of a Burglary
This year, one in five homes will be burglarized, according to the FBI’s Crime Reports. On average, the property loss will be around $1500, not counting the damage to the house that is caused by the break-in. Using these statistics as an example, let’s say that your monitored home security system (with several installed sensors) costs you $50.00 per month. This equates to about $600 per year. If the average loss from a burglary is over $1500, isn’t having a monitored home security system a more economical option? This doesn’t count any additional protection, such as flood sensors, fire sensors or carbon monoxide detectors.
Another good example is Melaleuca Home Security, a company which charges $24.95 per month for a basic home security package. This would cost you about $300 per year. For a more comprehensive package that includes interactive video and security, the cost is $39.95 per month ( Which equates about $475 per year). [NOTE: These estimates are for information purposes only. They do not include the installation fee associated with installing a system, since it may be dependent on specific factors.]
Insurance Discount
Many homeowner insurance policies offer a discount on their policies if a homeowner purchases a monitored security system. However, an insurance company usually requires a system to be installed by professionals, in order to make a homeowner eligible for the discount. In most cases, an insurance company will offer discounts of 15 – 20%. Most insurance companies also have a list of approved security systems that affect discount eligibility. To receive a discount, it’s also necessary for a homeowner to obtain a security alarm certificate, which is usually provided by their security monitoring company. If your insurance premium is $1200 per year, you could save up to $240 per year on your insurance (with a 20% discount). For this particular example, this would mean that you’re saving $20 per month on your insurance. If you have a monitored security system that costs $50, this means that with your insurance savings, you’re essentially only paying $30 per month.
Peace of Mind
There’s one benefit of having a monitored security system that can not be given a price tag – peace of mind. Having a monitored security system can help reassure you that in the event of a disaster, your home will have a measure of protection. Depending on the features that you choose to add to your monitored security system, it’s possible to install a very comprehensive security system to your home. You can protect against fire, floods, carbon monoxide emissions, theft and other disasters. You can install 24/7 video monitoring, that allows you to watch your home from any location. You can install pressure-sensors, which will let you know if there is any unauthorized access to certain areas of your home.
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