Upgrading from Redcare or downgrading your insurance? that is the question?

The BSIA has recently become involved in the row regarding the swapping out of Redcare units for other products such as Emizon and Dual-com. So why is there a problem? Well some installers have taken it upon themselves to swap out the communicator used to send signals through to the central station without the knowledge of their own customers. The reason for this is simple , the margins are greater for the installer and both Emizon and Dual-com do exactly the same job so why not. Well essentially its a technicality. Its all down to the grading. Redcare is a grade 4 product and the monitoring price reflects this. Emizon and Dualcom can be either grade 2,3 or 4. The problem does not lie with the manufacturers but with the alarm installers . Some have tried to maximise profits during hard times by putting in grade 2 communicators where previously they were grade 4 and this has given the insurance companies the opportunity to wriggle out of claims if they so chose. Of course the buck will stop with the installer in the end as the loss adjusters come after them and a large claim could put him out of business , but in many cases they were going to the wall anyway and by adding monitoring income to the balance sheets they have been able to keep their heads above water.

So what is the answer. Well both Emizon and Dual-com are as good as Redcare, the simple fact is that the installer must keep their customer informed and the customer must inform their insurance company and in truth the installer should pass some of the savings back to the customer, but in this day and age will they?.

Policed intruder alarms

Most insurance companies insist on an intruder alarm that is policed. This is obviously to minimise their risk and ensure that the end user installs a system that is from an accredited company such as an NSI installer.

The Police however have had a gutful of of call outs that have been generated as a result of false alarms and have therefore insisted on strict critera before they will attend any alarm call.

Confirmation is the main item they insist on and this can take one of 3 formats

Sequential confirmation

Audible confirmation

Or visual confirmation

Each of the above use a technique that ensures there are two factors involved in the process of signalling before the police can be called.

By far the most common form of of confirmation is sequential.This is a method whereby the alarm panel will need to process two signals from two separate devices within the building before sending a code to the central station that confirms movement in the premises .The number of  false policed alarms has reduced dramatically since this technique has been enforced.

Another factor insurance companies look for is secure  dual path signalling. This is where the panel is connected to a Dualcom or Redcare or Emizon. These signalling devices provide two paths to the central station the first over the phone line the second over GPRS or GSM. Each of the above have their own particular features but in essence all provide the dual path signalling that insurance companies insist upon.

If a premises loses policing or has not had policing in the six month previous a new application to the police must be sought .This often causes problems as many systems will need an upgrade to the latest European regs  in order to comply .

So if your premises requires a policed response please contact us and we can fill you in on all the critiera you will need to ensure you can get police cover.

Panels that are commonly used to ensure a policed response incude

Risco

Castle

Galaxy

Pyronix

Europlex

Dual path IP signalling for CCTV

Emizon.

Dual path IP signalling is a prerequisite now in all intruder alarm scenarios, for many years now insurers have insisted on it and it is one of the most important security measures employed within the industry. Also one that gives early warning of a potential break in and is crucial in limiting losses.

Emizon TCD

It is strange therefore, that CCTV systems do not seem to have the same level of security applied to their signalling path to a central station. Most CCTV systems rely on an unmonitored ASDL line, this seems totally inadequate when you consider what CCTV systems are expected to protect in the way of value, especially when being used to confirm external intrusions into compounds and other external areas where goods of high value are stored.

With the IP CCTV revolution currently underway, Emizon 21 have an ideal answer to any line cuts that may occur. They do this by providing dual path signalling using the broadband telephone line and a secondary GPRS route. Using the first secure  IP monitoring solution on the market, Emizon have shown innovation and an insight into the future of IP communication.

So with most telephone lines now going over to broadband , Emizon can provide excellent value for any dual path signalling solution, whether they be for existing, new intruder alarms or CCTV

Emizon, Adpro, and IP

EMIZON ADPRO AND IP

Back in March we talked about upgrading Adpro to IP. This gives a
quicker more reliable path to the monitoring station with all the
benefits of reduced ISDN phone bills. What we did not address was what
would happen if the IP path to the central station went faulty. Most
central stations have connections that are not backed up by a
secondary signalling path. They rely on running an audit approximately
every 7 days to ensure they can connect . Surely this entirely
unsatisfactory. How can such an important thing as CCTV monitoring be
compromised by either a deliberate line cut or a simple line fault.
Emizon have an IP communicator that solves these problems. For a
reasonable annual monitoring fee the CCTV broadband line can be
monitored 24/7 for faults or line cuts. If the line fails for any reason
either accidental or malicious, then an alarm is transmitted to the central
station via GPRS. The customer is then notified that their line is faulty
and they can then take  immediate action rather than having to wait 7 days
for the audit report.

Adpro have many thousands of transmitters out in the field that still
work on ISDN and although the Adpro itself  will continue to work well
being the resilient product that it is, the ISDN network is gradually
being dismantled. So upgrading to IP makes perfect sense. Back this up
with IP monitoring from Emizon and you have a secure and reliable
package.

Emizon IP CCTV communicator solution


Over the last 15 years one of the biggest growth areas in CCTV and security has been remote CCTV monitoring. A fantastic concept, it has been an easy sale once a customer is convinced a third party will be looking after his site for him for a fraction of the cost of a security guard. Over many years, the ISDN telephone line was the only way to carry enough data over the network to give a presentable picture to the operator viewing images at the central station. The one weak point never addressed however by either installers or the end users was, what If the line was cut? This effectively rendered the system useless.


As time has moved forward, we have had the broadband revolution. Manufacturers have continued to  strive to improve picture quality to central stations, now using clever compression techniques and the ever expanding bandwidth available, means operators sitting in the central station are now given some brilliant images to work with. It seems the criminals now have no chance? However we need to go back to an earlier point. What happens if the line is cut or simply goes faulty?  The intruder quite simply has all the the time in the world to effectively empty the customers premises, at his leisure …well not quite. There is now a simple cheap and effective solution.
Emizon IP have bought out their IP broadband communicator that can notify the central station of a broadband line failure. By using a secondary GPRS path a signal can be sent to the central station informing them that immediate action is required to restore the broadband link. When the Emizon is also connected to the premises intruder alarm all the signals will be received giving the central station enough information to call the police should this course of action be required.


The Emizon comes in the form of a TDC and also has relay outputs to re-initialize remote DVRs if required. It is always on and is also 8148 compliant, this means that thousands of legacy monitored systems would dramatically benefit by upgrading their signalling. Clearly using  Emizon has many advantages.


More on this product soon. And why we see Emizon being the leading dual path broadband monitoring solution for the future.