Monitored intruder alarm vs bells-only — which suits commercial?

Monitored intruder alarms link to an accredited Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) — on activation, the ARC contacts keyholders or dispatches police under a Unique Reference Number where the policy qualifies. Bells-only systems sound an external sounder and notify nobody. Most commercial insurance policies require monitoring with dual-path IP plus GSM signalling — bells-only is rarely accepted on commercial cover. The choice typically comes down to the insurer's schedule. Flextec Limited installs both monitored and bells-only systems but defaults every commercial brief to monitored unless the insurer explicitly accepts bells-only.

What monitored adds beyond bells-only

Verified police response. Keyholder notification 24/7. Dual-path signalling so a single broadband drop never silently disarms protection. Audit trail of every activation and reset. Insurance compliance for the majority of commercial schedules.

Commercial intruder alarm details · Why Flextec for East Yorkshire · Request a survey.

By Sam Davis, Founder — 40+ years combined Yorkshire commercial security experience. Read more about Sam.