February 11, 2012
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Question
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Ken:
I own a small mom and pop alarm company and I receive you e-mails and I am interested in obtaining your contracts. We sale and install Burglar & Fire Alarm Systems and CCTV Systems for Commercial and Residential customers. I do not have any employees and I contract with other licensed installers for my service calls and installations. At some point in the future we may be monitoring some CCTV Systems as well. We contract with United Central Control located in San Antonio, Texas for our monitoring needs. My current contract is 11 years old and the only one I have been using since I started my business in 2000. It is a one legal page front and back agreement form. I am a member of the Houston Gulf Coast Alarm Association and I have a copy of their contract but I think yours would be much better especially for our industry.
Sincerely,
MSS
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Response
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I hope you're not using 11 year old technology, though I suppose it might work. You shouldn't be using an 11 year old contract, and I doubt it will work. There have been loads of new consumer oriented laws enacted requiring contract changes over the last 11 years [I offer that without actually checking what they are, but my office will know them].
I might have mentioned this before, "your contracts are the most important asset in your business." I am certain that you don't offer one type of service exclusively, and you aren't going to be able to do business with one contract. The longer you wait to get proper up to date contracts the more you put your company at risk, jeopardize your alarm license and short change the value of your business.
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Question on Indemnity
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Ken,
We have just received your Fire All in One contract to be used in our Fire Alarm Division. My question is what to do with an agreement sent to me after I sent out a contract for service to one of our customers. This particular instance is a commercial leasing company with properties that we are proposing fire inspection, service, and monitoring for. Upon receipt of the all in one agreement they returned their agreement with the following:
Contractor’s Liability & Indemnification of the Company:
The Contractor shall reimburse, indemnify, hold harmless and defend the Owner, its employees, agents, servants, affiliated entities and representatives from and against any and all losses, damages, expenses, claims, lawsuits, and demands of whatever nature, resulting from damages or injuries, including death, to any property or persons, caused by or arising out of any actions, omission or operation under the Contract or in connection with the work attributable to the Contractor, Subcontractor, any of their respective employees, agents, servants, and representatives, or any other person including the Corporation, its employees, agents, servants, or representatives except those damage or injuries, including death, to any property or persons, caused solely and exclusively by the negligence or intentional misconduct of the Corporation, its employees, agents, servants and representatives.
How does this conflict with the contract we are requesting the leasing company to sign prior to doing any work on their properties? Any input from others having dealt with this type of situation are welcome. I devoted as much time as I could to see if this was already in the "Article of interest" but did not find anything relative.
Here is the comment from the leasing company as it relates to my previous e-mail regarding possible conflicts.
Typically, we ask our vendors to sign our standard service agreement, and then add the vendor’s agreement or scope of work as Exhibit A. I’ve attached a copy of our agreement for your review.
Randy
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Response
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Indemnity is always a tough issue for both alarm companies and subscribers. The competing contract forms are always at odds with each other on that issue. You want indemnity from the subscriber and the subscriber wants indemnity from you.
When faced with a standoff there are a few options [besides passing up on the work].
You can work with the subscriber's indemnity form and limit it to your acts [only damages that you would be liable for] and also limit your exposure to your insurance coverage. Make sure your insurance policy will cover that contractual indemnity provision.
You can add to your form or the subscriber's form that to the extent there are inconsistencies between the forms, your form governs.
You can try and cross out both indemnity provisions and substitute a provision that both parties agree to look to their own insurance coverage, not each other. Adding your subscriber to your policy as an additional insured might help you with this option.
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Question
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Ken
Hi there. My employer asked me to get some information about your contracts, as we may want to start using them here at our office. Can you give me some pricing information? Thanks!
Shannon
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The list of available Standard Forms and prices are found at https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/alarm2.htm
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More on Pool Alarms
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Hi Ken,
Yes there is a Company, GRI, that manufactures pool alarm devices for interfacing into the Alarm System, specifically for exit door alarm on a premise.
There are other " floatation" or water level disturbance type devices (wireless and hardwired) that also are available.
Installers are also to be cautioned that Local AHJ's may have some more restrictive requirements as well: one that comes to mind is the Town Of Brookhaven
Mike Sokoly
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Here is pool alarm law from NY. Other jurisdictions most likely follow this uniform code.
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Pool Alarms
Swimming Pool Rules and Regulations found in the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code
(The "Uniform Code") www.dos.ny.gov/code/currpoolreg.htm
Brief Summary of Alarm Requirements for Residential Swimming Pools:
Every swimming pool that is installed, constructed or substantially modified after December 14, 2006 must be equipped with an approved pool alarm which:
is capable of detecting a child entering the water and giving an audible alarm when it detects a child entering the water;
is audible poolside and at another location on the premises where the swimming pool is located;
is not an alarm device which is located on person(s) or which is dependent on device(s) located on person(s) for its proper operation.
A pool alarm must be capable of detecting entry into the water at any point on the surface of the swimming pool. If necessary to provide detection capability at every point on the surface of the swimming pool, more than one pool alarm must be installed.
Pool alarms are not required in:
• a hot tub or spa equipped with a safety cover classified to reference standard ASTM F1346 (2003), entitled Standard Performance Specification for Safety Covers and Labeling Requirements for All Covers for Swimming Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs, or
• any swimming pool (other than a hot tub or spa) equipped with an automatic power safety cover classified by to reference standard ASTM F1346 (2003).
Specific Swimming Pool Alarm Requirements can be found in the DOS document titled "Current Requirements for Swimming Pools contained in the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (The "Uniform Code")"