KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Comment on no need for contracts / Contract updates
May 28, 2020
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Comment on no need for contracts from article on May 22, 2020
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Ken,
Responding to “Name Witheld’s” comment on you May 22nd blog. He states that his goal was to be a sub-contractor for other companies and never wanted to accumulate hundreds or thousands of accounts. You correctly commented on his business plan so I won’t pile on. The comment that really caught my attention was his “I don’t have enough customers to make it worthwhile purchasing new contracts for the amount of monitored accounts that I have”. Not to one up (or one down) Mr. Witheld but I have an even smaller company. I have a Texas Alarm company license by virtue of having been part owner in an alarm company years ago. I keep the license active and monitor three accounts, my house, my office, and a warehouse full of miscellaneous alarm equipment.
A few years back the warehouse was burglarized. There were some issues, the central station called the wrong number for verification, they gave the wrong customer name to the response company so they didn’t respond (the response company should have cross referenced the address but didn’t), all things that would upset a customer and fuel a lawsuit.
The burglars were able to spend quite a bit of time unchallenged and the lack of response definitely increased the loss. The good news is that I was both the customer and the alarm company so there was no chance of a law suit, right? Think again. The carrier for the warehouse asked me for my contract and, fortunately, there was a complete and executed contract (a “Kirschenbaum Contract”) between my alarm company and my warehouse (two separate companies).
The carrier for the warehouse saw the limitation of liability provision and decided not to go after the alarm company. I saved having to file a claim with the carrier for the alarm company and a most certain rate increase on that policy as well.
Flying by the seat of your pants with no plan, and ignoring basic business practices, may sound adventurous, but it is dangerous.
Mitch Reitman
Reitman Consulting Group
Fort Worth, TX
817-698-9999
http://www.reitman.us
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Contract updates
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The most significant updates in 2020 are to the exculpatory and limitation of liability clauses, the limited warranty provision and adding the availability of Thermal Imaging. You may not be selling the thermal imaging devices [I am told they are expensive and not many customers are prepared to buy them, even with the coronavirus pandemic. [also there’s the FDA approval issue].
The thermal imaging provisions have been added to the Commercial All in One. If you sell these devices you should update your contract.
All Standard Form Agreements that have an exculpatory clause [that would include all contracts between alarm company and subscriber] have been updated to include:
* exclusion for gross negligence and willful misconduct
* agreement by subscriber not to sue alarm company
* pandemic and virus provisions
THESE ARE NOT COSMETIC CHANGES; THEY ARE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES AND WARRANT AN IMMEDIATE UPDATING OF THE KIRSCHENBAUM CONTRACTS ™. Don’t wait for someone else to find and copy our copyrighted contract provisions; update now.
As always, our policy on updates applies: No charge for update if you purchased your contract within 6 months, and half price if your contract was purchased 6 months to 12 months from date of request of update. Call our Contract Administrator Eileen Wagda at 516 747 6700 x 312 or email EWagda@Kirschenbaumesq.com
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To order up to date Standard Form Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements, click here: www.alarmcontracts.com
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THE ALARM EXCHANGE
This area is reserved for alarm classifieds, alarm company announcements, solicitations, offers, etc.
There is no charge to post a listing here.Include your contact information, phone, email and web site. If you would like to submit a post, please send an email to ken@kirschenbaumesq.com. To create a reciprocal link to our website, click here.
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
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