If you are thinking about having a security system installed in your home or business you might be asking yourself "Should I have it monitored?" Ultimately that's a question that only you can answer by weighing the benefits of the service against the cost.

Having your alarm monitored adds some great benefits to your security system. Some of the benefits include lower homeowners insurance, peace of mind, the ability to control your system remotely with mobile devices, alarm notification, and overall system health notifications.

Most home owners insurance companies will give you a discount for having a monitored security system in your home. They realize the chances of you being burglarized are much less when you have a monitored system installed. This means fewer insurance claims for them. They in turn can pass some of that discount on to you. It's simple. After having your system installed simply provide your insurance company with an alarm installation certificate provided by your alarm company.

Knowing that if something happens at your home when you are away can help provide you with a greater peace of mind. When you choose to have your system monitored all alarm events are monitored and handled by trained operators. Being notified of an intrusion the moment it happens is much better than arriving home to find a broken door/window or possibly a burglar inside.

Having your system monitored also allows you to add interactive services. This will allow you to control your system, see the current status, and view event history from your mobile device(s). This can be very convenient if you leave the home and forget to turn the system on. Simply open the app on your mobile device and arm the system. Also, this can come in handy if you are away from your home and would like to give someone access to your home without giving out your own personal user code.

If you decide not to have your system monitored then you will be relying on the siren to scare the intruders away. With monitoring you get instant alarm notification as well as police dispatch if needed. This gives you a more effective alarm system.

One of the most important and often overlooked benefits of having your system monitored is being notified of system trouble events. These can often be overlooked on a non monitored system. You can be notified of low system batteries that are in need of changing, power failures, and other system troubles that could cause your system to not operate properly.

I believe the benefits of having a security system monitored far outweigh the monthly cost of the service. For more details discuss this with your local security professional.