The alarm installation industry has experienced continued growth as more and more people look to secure their homes and businesses. With this growth comes increased risks— it’s important to make sure you are protecting your business and your employees from potential threats. Central Insurance Agency is prepared to provide you with a custom insurance solution to fit your needs.
In a recent lawsuit, a hotel clerk working behind the front desk was about to be attacked, pushed the panic button, and no one came to her assistance. The button was broken and apparently the alarm company knew about the broken panic button for weeks.
Subsequently, the clerk was severely injured. During the trial the alarm company, Vanwell Electronics, settled for $2.5 million. The article reporting the settlement does not indicate if the alarm company had insurance coverage, however it can be inferred that it did based on the size of the settlement.
According to the story, the alarm company knew about the broken button for 16 weeks. The case had been dismissed against the monitoring company, Criticom Monitoring Services, obviously because it had no obligation to repair panic buttons and no signal reached its central station.
The story doesn’t go into any detail about what obligation the alarm company had, only that it “installed and maintained the hotel’s security system”.
Use proper contracts, careful what obligations you commit yourself to, and remember you are in the life/safety protection business, so conduct yourself and your business with that in mind.