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ALARM CO HAVING TROUBLE PLACING PERS FOR MONITORING
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Ken,
We are a contractor in Las Vegas. I use a third party central station for my fire and burg monitoring.
One of my service techs came to me and wanted to have his mother’s burglar alarm monitored.
The problem is she is elderly and he wanted us to monitor a medical pendant. She just hurt herself.
The GM at the monitoring company was very hesitant and handed me a medical rider.
Even with that he really did not want to monitor the medical due to liability. I called the owner of my company while I was there and he felt our insurance would not cover this either.
Have you run into this issue before? Any advice?
MS
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RESPONSE
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Medical Alert is one of the services covered by PERS - personal emergency response service. We offer a separate PERS agreement for use in a single state or nationwide use. You should not be contracting for PERS service without this PERS Agreement, and it's not surprising that a central station would refuse to monitor that system and service without proper contracts in place.
Not all central stations monitor PERS, and some central stations specialize in PERS monitoring. You can check on The Alarm Exchange. We are also presenting a webinar on PERS as part of our Webinar Series "All you need to know about ......" As I write this email the PERS webinar is scheduled for February 8, 2017 at noon. The complete schedule is below.
The information from the central station regarding your insurance may also be correct, though it's not likely that one medical alert system will cause your carrier to drop you. But you do have to be sure that PERS is covered by your policy because it may be excluded.
I'm not sure why but the PERS industry has traditionally operated independently from the alarm industry. There is a lot of overlap, but some companies just do PERS. More recently PERS equipment and services have become more available, more reasonably priced and more popular in the alarm industry. In other words, traditional alarm companies are looking into or already offering PERS.
The key for PERS is gettting the PERS contract, selecting PERS equipment you are comfortable with, selecting a central station and ensuring that your general liability insurance with errors and omission covers the "medical alert", PERS service.
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WEBINARS: Sign up for any or all of the webinars that interest you.
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FREE Webinar Series "All You Need To Know About" alarm industry issues.
Register for one or all. Each presentation scheduled for half hour to hour. Not recorded.
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Title: All You Need To Know About electronic contracts for the alarm industry
When: February 2, 2017 at noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: General discussion about electronic alarm contracts, execution and delivery. Introduction to SedonaOffice's eForms service.
Who should attend: Alarm company owners, general managers, sales managers
Presented by: Michael Marks 440-804-4517 SedonaOffice michael@perennialsoftware.com
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6112404321829619713
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Title: All You Need To Know About Preparing Your Company For A Sale
When: February 7, 2017 at 12 noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: General discussion about preparing your company for sale
Who should attend: Alarm company owners
Presented by: Kelly Bond, Alarm Capital Alliance kelly.bond@alarmcapital.com
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8406180190928568833
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Title: All You Need To Know About PERS - Personal Emergency Response Service
When: February 8, 2017 at noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: the state of the PERS industry, demographics here now and ahead, financial and business models, PERS solutions available, mobile PERS and where this will likely end up in the near future. Introduction to Essence-USA 's Smart Alerting and partnership with Affiliated Central Station.
Who should attend: Alarm company owners, general managers, sales managers, sales staff
Presented by: Josh Locke, Director of Sales Essence-USA.com JoshLo@Essence-USA.com 734.667.5958 cell: 734.709.5609
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2770642138855812865
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Title: All You Need To Know About consumer alarm contracts
When: February 9, 2017 noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: What makes consumer contracts different and compliance issues.
Who should attend: Alarm company owners, general managers, sales managers, sales staff
Presented by: Ken Kirschenbaum, Esq.
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9083897168057308673
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Title: All You Need To Know About Automatic Renewal Provisions in Alarm Contracts
When: February 15, 2017 at noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: The why, where and how of automatic renewal provisions in alarm contracts
Who should attend: Alarm company owners, general managers, sales managers, sales staff
Presented by: Ken Kirschenbaum, Esq.
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3498770624606417921
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Title: All You Need To Know About Video Surveillance
When: February 16, 2017 at noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: Discuss latest in video surveillance equipment and services
Who should attend: Alarm company owners, general managers, sales managers, video technicians
Presented by: Ari Erenthal, training manager for IPVM, the leading resource for independent news, reviews, and testing of cameras, VMS, NVRs, and more. (862) 414-3078 ari@ipvideomarket.info
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6264618512556065793
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Title: All You Need To Know About Selecting the Right Broker to Sell Your Alarm Business
When: February 23, 2017 noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: General discussion about finding the right broker to represent you on the sale of your alarm business
Who should attend: Alarm company owners
Presented by: Ron Davis and Steve Rubin from Graybeards rdavis@graybeardsus.com srubin@graybeardsus.com
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8548769256865453057
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Title: All You Need To Know About modern nationwide central station operations and how to select the best central station for your needs
When: February 24, 2017 noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: General discussion about what you should expect from your modern nationwide central station and how to select the best central station for your needs
Who should attend: Alarm company owners, general managers, sales managers, sales staff
Presented by: Morgan Hertel from Rapid Response MHertel@rrms.com
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/507826318172222465
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Title: All You Need To Know About Fire Alarm Systems and Taking Over Fire Alarm Systems
When: March 1, 2017 noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: General discussion about issues to consider when installing, servicing or inspecting fire alarm and when taking over an existing system
Who should attend: Alarm company owners, general managers, sales managers, technician managers
Presented by: Jeff Zwirn JeffZwirn@alarmexpert.com
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4756737271107996417
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Title: All You Need To Know About Standard Fire Protection All in One Agreement Covering Installation, Inspection, Service of Sprinkler System, Portable Extinguishers, Kitchen Hood, Smoke Detectors, Fire Pump
When: March 2, 2017 noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: General discussion about the Standard Fire Protection All in One provisions including scope of work, liability limitations, insurance issues, indemnity issues, how to handle subscribers who won't sign or want you to sign their agreement.
Who should attend: Alarm company owners, general managers, sales managers, sales staff
Presented by: Ken Kirschenbaum, Esq.
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/658147149875346945
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Title: All You Need To Know About Alarm Licensing and Contracts for DIY
When: March 9, 2017 noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: General discussion about licensing in the alarm industry for DYI. Different types of licenses, where you need them and how you get them. How and when to use License Holders or Qualifiers for your business and how to become a license holder for a company. Risks involved in not being licensed. Contract you will need for nationwide DIY monitoring agreements.
Who should attend: Alarm company owners, general managers, compliance managers and license holders.
Presented by: Ken Kirschenbaum, Esq.
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2585168820901654273
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