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Question re insurance procurement clause
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Ken,
     I had a customer asking about the insurance clause.  Her question is , if she has to list us as an insured on home owners policy, our name would be on checks she receives should she have a claim. Can you please help explain this to me?
LL
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Answer
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    You are referring to the insurance procurement clause which requires your subscriber to obtain insurance covering its insurable interests and name the alarm company as an additional insured.  Your subscriber is incorrect.  The alarm company's name will not be on the check if the subscriber claims a loss.  
    Just to make sure I was right I asked alarm industry insurance expert Alice Giacalone [800 917 2542].  She explained that an "additional insured" would not be on a check.  The alarm company is not asking to be named as an "also insured" or a "loss payee" in which case it would be on the check.  
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Question re name on contract
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Hi Ken,
    I have a question about a new subscriber.  This customer told me her last name was  Rosh and signed and printed this name on the sales  and monitoring contracts.  When I received payment from her I noticed her
last name on the check was Roshanf.   I'm assuming that I should go back and get new contracts with her full name. I would appreciate your advice.
Mike Rofeim
Central Station Alarms Inc.
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Answer
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    It's important to get the correct name on a contract.  The issue may come up in a collection case or a defense case.  Although all may not be lost if a name is not correct you will have the burden of proving that person who signed is the same as the person who now claims to be someone else.  People are allowed to use assumed names but not for the purpose of defrauding others.  Rather than get into a complicated discussion, suffice it to say that you should endeavor to get the correct and full name of your subscriber - this is particularly important for legal entities, i.e. corporations and LLCs.  To answer the above question, you don't need a new contract but you should get something in writing from the subscriber saying she uses both names.
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Question re renters
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Ken,  
    I have a homeowner with a security system that is renting her home and has
asked me to deal direct with the renter for monitoring and maintenance. Does the all
in one contract protect me from this situation or should I leave it alone?
anon
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Answer
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    First of all it's going to be hard to protect you with anything if you continue to use the terminology "maintenance".  You don't provide maintenance except perhaps with a fire alarm system or other system that you routinely inspect and fix.  For alarm systems you Service upon request.  The All in One covers installation, remote access, service and monitoring.  I think what you are really asking is, who signs the contract?  The system is already installed and presumably being monitored and serviced under contract with the Owner.  Now the Owner tells you that the house is rented and you should deal with the tenant.  First question you have to ask is who is paying you?  Next, who can request service and who is going to pay for it?  Who can call the central station and cancel an alarm using the unique code and who is paying for the monitoring?  
    The tenant is the beneficiary of the services and has to sign a contract for monitoring and service.  You can use the All in One; you won't need to fill out the sales part.  If the Owner is paying for the services then the tenant's contract will state that the Owner is paying.  The Owner will also sign a contract stating that Owner is paying and services to be provided to tenant pursuant to separate contract signed by Tenant.  Yes they can both sign the same contract but you'd have to include the terms I mention above.
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Question  re can you ask applicant about criminal convictions
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Hi Ken,
    Since our NY State License requires an acceptable criminal background clearance can we ask a candidate for employment to voluntary disclose his past convictions prior to the state investigation?
Regards,
Bob Williams
Briscoe Protective Systems Inc.
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Answer
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    Yes.  In fact the Employee Statement that has to be completed by the prospective employee does ask that question.  Your employment application can ask if there is any convictions.  In fact it also asks if the applicant is under indictment for a crime or under investigation for any wrongdoing by any governmental agency.   I can understand how you would be concerned about asking this question, or any question for that matter.  As you know you can't ask about marital status, sexual orientation, race, age, religion, disabilities, whether they voted for Obama and who knows what else.  I guess criminals, convicted or otherwise, are not a protected class, yet.
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