Alarm Installation, Repair and Monitoring Contractors

Most alarm contractors need a package built around General Liability, Contractors Errors and Omissions, and Protection System Contractor coverage for ongoing operations — plus optional lines like Inland Marine for your tools, Commercial Auto for your vehicles, and Workers' Compensation once you have employees. If you monitor systems in addition to installing them, you also need coverage that responds specifically to monitoring and dispatch failures, not just installation mistakes. MBG Insurance builds this out through Secura, an admitted carrier with a program purpose-built for alarm, CCTV, access control, and low-voltage contractors.

This is where a lot of alarm contractors are underinsured. A standard General Liability policy covers third-party bodily injury and property damage, but it typically excludes claims that your work itself was deficient — for example, a system you installed that failed to detect an intrusion. That's what Contractors Errors and Omissions coverage is for: it responds to damage to your product, damage to your work, and damage to impaired property, even after the job is finished (completed operations). If a claim surfaces months or years after installation alleging your system didn't perform, E&O is what protects you — not GL alone.

Ongoing operations coverage protects you while you're actively working — installing, servicing, or wiring a system on-site. Completed operations coverage picks up after you've left the job, protecting you against claims tied to work you already finished. Secura's program separates these clearly: Protection System Contractor coverage handles E&O exposure on ongoing operations, while Contractors Errors and Omissions covers completed operations. You need both, because an alarm failure can trace back to either stage — a wiring error made mid-install, or a programming mistake that only shows up after the system's been live for a year.

Yes, but this needs to be built into your policy specifically, not assumed. If your business monitors alarms and dispatches emergency response, your liability exposure includes claims that a signal wasn't received, wasn't acted on quickly enough, or was routed incorrectly. Secura's program is built with this exposure in mind through its E&O and Protection System Contractor coverage, so monitoring — not just installation — is part of the underwriting appetite. This is a gap in a lot of generic contractor policies, so it's worth confirming explicitly with your agent rather than assuming a standard GL form has you covered.

General Liability doesn't cover your own tools — that's what Inland Marine coverage is for. Secura's program includes optional Inland Marine for tools and equipment, plus a Contractor and Services WRAP endorsement that adds specific sub-limits: $10,000 for client property stolen by an employee, $1,000 per employee (up to $10,000 aggregate) for employee tools, and $25,000 for jobsite installation theft. Given how much is invested in wire pullers, test equipment, panels, and cameras, this coverage is worth building into your policy rather than treating as an afterthought.

No. If you drive a van or truck between installs, service calls, or monitoring-related site visits, that vehicle needs to be covered under a commercial auto policy, not your personal one. Secura's program offers owned, hired, and non-owned auto coverage, along with a Business Auto WRAP that bundles in several valuable coverage extensions and can save money compared to adding each one separately.

Given the severity alarm failure claims can reach — total property loss, business interruption, injury, or worse — many alarm contractors carry a Commercial Liability Umbrella to extend coverage beyond their underlying GL and E&O limits. It's optional, but it's one of the most common additions for this trade because the ceiling on a bad claim is genuinely high.

Not necessarily. Secura offers an Elite Additional Insured WRAP, which builds in automatic additional insured status for eligible customers or entities, so you're not stuck adding an endorsement every time you sign a new contract requiring it. This is a common friction point for contractors who work with commercial or property management clients that require certificates naming them as additional insured.

Yes. Secura is an admitted carrier in Missouri and Kansas, which means it's licensed and regulated by each state's insurance department and backed by the state guaranty fund if the insurer were ever unable to pay claims. That gives you more rate stability and state-backed protection than an excess and surplus (E&S) lines policy typically offers.

Yes. Secura provides risk management resources aimed at improving workplace safety, including free safety talks and programs available through secura.net. Their claims team also commits to calling you back within 24 hours of being notified of a loss and staying with you until the claim is resolved.

Pricing depends on the size and complexity of your operation — a solo installer doing service calls has a very different risk profile than a company running installation crews plus a full-time monitoring center. As an independent agency, MBG Insurance shops your risk across multiple top-rated carriers, including our Secura program, to find competitive pricing. The fastest way to get an accurate number is to submit a quote request; most alarm contractor quotes come back within 24–48 hours.