Crash & Smash » Home Security Blog

Wireless Home Alarms – Reminder on Insurance Discounts for Protecting Your Home and Family

Posted by Peter M. Rogers at 7:36 pm No Responses »

Jan 092012

Here at FrontPoint we pride ourselves on being extremely knowledgeable and completely transparent, so we get a lot of questions: about how our wireless, state-of-the-art systems work, or why 100 % cellular monitoring really is safer, or even why our patented “Crash & Smash” protection makes a FrontPoint system with advanced Interactive services virtually impossible to defeat. Another question that comes up a lot is about homeowner’s insurance, and how having a monitored alarm system can save you money.

It’s True, as Insurance Companies Will Tell You

Of the many claims made by various alarm companies, one is almost universal: that a monitored alarm system can provide a nice discount on your homeowner’s insurance policy, and partially offset your monthly monitoring fee. I have known this to be the case for over twenty years, but recently did some homework to reconfirm. Yup, it’s still true: the discounts are there, and they average roughly 15%, but can be higher. Here’s a blurb from the Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney site, regarding home insurance savings:

Your central alarm system could save you hundreds on your annual premiums. Insurers will routinely give you 15% to 20% off for a fire and burglar alarm system hooked up to a third-party monitoring company. At The Hartford, you can get a 2% discount for deadbolt locks and a 2% discount for smoke alarms. Read More »

Crash & Smash Protection

Posted by Peter M. Rogers at 10:00 am No Responses »

Dec 152011

Imagine this scenario: while you’re away, an intruder breaks into your home when your alarm system is armed. After the entry delay (usually 30 seconds), the siren sounds. The intruder hunts down the alarm system – and these guys know where to look. He smashes the alarm control panel beforeit can dial out to the monitoring center. The police never come, and he gets clean away, with your cash, jewelry, and electronics.This really happens – and when it does, it’s called “Crash and Smash.”

I left out the part about your phone line being cut, since we have already covered that in my post on cellular monitoring – and that doesn’t stop a FrontPoint system!Today I’m focused on Crash and Smash, and what happens with a traditional alarm system, vs. a system with Smash and Crash protection. The good news? Someone figured a way to beat Crash and Smash, and that someone is Alarm.com, FrontPoint’s technology partner. Through its patented Interactive Monitoring services, the Alarm.com radio sends a cellular signal as soon as the first sensor is triggered, and treats the signal like an intrusion – so it doesn’t matter if the panel gets smashed or not. Your home is still protected.

We have a customer in Michigan who actually had this happen, but it was his store that was broken into. The patented Crash and Smash protection worked: the signal was sent, and even though the panel was destroyed, the police were dispatched – and the perps were caught in the act. Here’s a link to the story, with a video testimonial on how his FrontPoint system beat the bad guys.

How Crash and Smash works

The safest home security systems use smart Crash and Smash technology. The moment an intruder triggers an alarm sensor (door, window, motion, etc…), a signal is sent and is ready to sound the alarm with the monitoring station. If no pass code from the home owner is received, that alarm is sent, and the proper authorities are notified – and dispatched. Alarm systems with Smash and Crash technology are virtually impossible to defeat, and keep you one step ahead of any intruder.

So there you have it – part #5 of my Smarter Home Alarm Systems series. Crash and Smash is one of my favorite features of next-generation home protection, since it really separatesFrontPoint from the crowd in the arena of interactive, wireless home security. And when that intruder even tries to get a foot in the door – we’ll already know about it!

ADT Pulse Cost and Review: Customers Speak Out on Pulse

Posted by Peter M. Rogers at 11:36 am 6 Responses »

Dec 052011

The folks at ADT have invested a tremendous amount of time and energy in developing and marketing their Pulse platform. The offering is a massive effort to help ADT try to catch up with other alarm companies, especially in the areas of interactive monitoring and home automation. Now that Pulse has been out for a number of months, the reviews are coming in – and they are mixed. A great example was posted to the FrontPoint web site, in the form of a request for us to contact an unhappy Pulse customer:

We bought ADT’s Pulse system, but they can’t figure out how to program a static router in their iHub. Two installs and two months later we’re thinking about giving up and asking for money back. No installer has done anything as they just give up at “go” and pass it to someone else. Read More »

Crash & Smash Protection is Undefeatable

Posted by Peter M. Rogers at 10:00 am No Responses »

Aug 262011

Imagine this scenario: while you’re away, an intruder breaks into your home when your alarm system is armed. After the entry delay (usually 30 seconds), the siren sounds. The intruder hunts down the alarm system – and these guys know where to look. He smashes the alarm control panel before it can dial out to the monitoring center. The police never come, and he gets clean away, with your cash, jewelry, and electronics.This really happens – and when it does, it’s called “Crash and Smash.”

Shopping for Home Security - FrontPoint is a Great Price and a Great Value

Posted by Peter M. Rogers at 11:08 am No Responses »

Aug 102011

Those of you who know FrontPoint are probably familiar with the key benefits that make us different – and we think better – than other alarm companies: “Safer, Smarter, Simpler, and More Affordable.” Sometimes we add a fifth element, “Virtually Impossible to Defeat,” in reference to the patented Crash and Smash protection our systems provide. Today I’d like to expand on the “More Affordable” aspect of FrontPoint, since in these economic times everyone is concerned not simply about price, but total value, even when shopping for peace of mind.

I like to say that price is what you pay, but value is what something is worth – and in the long run, value is the more important. FrontPoint compares extremely well to other alarm companies in in both regards, which has made us the leader in wireless home security. But if we focus just on price, there are two elements to compare when shopping for an alarm system: