Understanding Intruder Alarm Grades is essential to ensure that your property or commercial premises are fully protected. In this article, you will learn all about intruder alarm grades and what system you require in order to meet insurance requirements and the risk level of your property.
In order to understand what intruder alarm grade you require we would recommend that you first speak to your insurance company, as they will be able to recommend a suitable grade that meets your requirements.
What are the intruder alarm system grades?
EN 50131 is the European Standard for Intruder Alarms and one of the most important aspects of EN 50131 requirements is the security grade.
There are four intruder alarm grades, which include:
- What is a Grade 1 Intruder Alarm? – Your premises are unlikely to be targeted by intruders.
- What is a Grade 2 Intruder Alarm? – Your premises are at a higher risk of an intruder or theft due to assets kept on your site.
- What is a Grade 3 Intruder Alarm? – Your premises are at substantial risk from intruders due to high-value assets on your site.
- What is a Grade 4 Intruder Alarm? – Your premises have a very high risk of being targeted by organised criminals due to the high value of your assets.
What type of intruder alarm grade system do I need?
The type of system you need will be determined by your assets, risk profile, requirements, and insurance needs. We would recommend that you first speak to an intruder alarm company which should perform a site survey and risk assessment of the premises in question.
An important consideration to keep in mind is that if your installation is required to be a grade 2 alarm system, then you can use a grade 3 power supply. However, if you have a requirement for a grade 3 alarm system, and your installer fits a grade 2 power supply, then that system will be limited to a grade 2 system. So alsos nsure that paperwork is checked to ensure that you have a system that fully meets your, and your insurer’s, requirements fully.
Grade 1 Intruder Alarms – these are for properties with a low risk of theft and are not likely to attract intruders. If theft was to occur it would be assumed that it was opportunistic, as opposed to a planned operation. Grade 1 intruder alarms would only be of interest in domestic properties (without an insurance requirement for an alarm system).
Grade 2 Intruder Alarms – these are intruder alarms for slightly higher risk of theft. Your property is likely to have something that would be of interest to an experienced thief. The thief would also have some knowledge of how alarm systems work. The thief will look for open windows and other easy methods in which to gain entry. Grade 2 intruder alarms are for most domestic properties and low-risk commercial (e.g. coffee shops)
Grade 3 Intruder Alarms – these are intruder alarms for a property with a substantial risk of theft and that contain high-value assets that would mean a thief would be very motivated to break in. The intruder(s) would again have a high level of knowledge when it comes to security systems and has tools to overcome them, Therefore a stronger system is required to protect your assets. An intruder is again likely to perform their homework and look at security flaws at your peoprty, they would then target doors, windows, or other openings. Grade 3 intruder alarms are for high-risk domestic homes and most commercial properties (e.g. Newsagent with cigarette sales)
Grade 4 Intruder Alarms – these are intruder alarms for very high-risk properties. Intruders may plan break-ins as the value of the assets acts as a strong motivator. Intruders will also have the knowledge and equipment to plan a break-in and look to circumnavigate security systems. The intruder is also unlikely to be working alone. Grade 4 intruder alarms would be for extremely high-risk domestic and higher-risk commercial properties (e.g. jewellery stores)
What Maintenance is Required For An Intruder Alarm?
Routine maintenance should be performed at least once per year. If you have a monitored alarm system, then you should perform two checks per annum, one of which can be remote.
It is vital that your system undergoes routine maintenance in order to ensure that your system is always operational and you meet your insurance policy requirements.
