Monitored or unmonitored burglar alarm: which should you choose?

Choose who will respond to an alert before choosing the equipment.

The answer in 2 lines. A bells-only alarm sounds locally; a self-monitored system may notify your phone. Professional monitoring adds a receiving service that acts under an agreed contract. Compare the response arrangements, full cost, ownership, maintenance and exit terms. Ask your insurer what your policy requires before buying. Police attendance depends on the circumstances and applicable alarm arrangements, rather than a sales promise.

Before choosing a system

Ask your insurer in writing whether your policy requires an alarm, a particular installation standard, monitoring or maintenance.
Request comparable written quotes showing equipment, installation, ongoing charges, maintenance and the total minimum commitment.
Ask who receives an activation, how it is verified, who contacts keyholders and what qualifies for a police response.

Stop: danger

Suspected burglary in progress or immediate danger: stay somewhere safe, do not confront anyone and call 999.
An alert alone is not a reason to enter: do not ask a neighbour or keyholder to search a property where an intruder may be present. Agree a safe response beforehand.

What the different systems do

A bells-only system relies on someone noticing the sound and responding. A self-monitored connected alarm can send alerts to you, but you still need a plan when you are asleep, travelling or unable to answer.

A professionally monitored system passes signals to a receiving service. Depending on the agreement, it may contact keyholders, verify an activation or request police assistance through an eligible arrangement. Ask the installer to explain this in writing.

Read Avon and Somerset Police's alarm guidance to compare residential alarm types and understand why monitoring and police response are separate questions.

Questions the quote should answer

Ask who owns the equipment and what still works after the subscription ends. Check whether app access, mobile connectivity, repairs, replacement batteries and call-outs are included. Establish what happens during a power cut or broadband failure and how a fault reaches you.

Request the minimum term, renewal arrangements, notice requirements, price-change provisions and early-exit charges. Ask what happens if you move or sell the property. Do not assume an unmonitored system has no ongoing charges.

For any claimed police-response package, ask for evidence that the proposed installation and monitoring meet the local force's requirements. Do not accept a claim that every activation guarantees attendance.

What not to do

Signing during a doorstep visit because a discount supposedly expires immediately.
Comparing only the monthly fee while overlooking installation, maintenance or exit charges.
Assuming an alarm guarantees an insurance discount or a police response.
Cancelling the payment instruction and assuming that this also ends the contract.

Cooling-off rights and cancellation

For a monitoring service arranged online or by phone, a 14-day cooling-off period generally applies, starting the day after the contract is made. Qualifying contracts made at home also carry cancellation rights. Equipment and installation can involve additional rules, so ask for the applicable cancellation information before agreeing.

If you request service during the cooling-off period, you may have to pay for the service already provided. Fully completed services can affect cancellation rights. Use the Citizens Advice cancellation guide for England to check your circumstances and follow its cancellation steps. Keep written evidence of your notice.

After the cooling-off period, check the contract rather than assuming you can leave without charge. Challenge unclear or apparently unfair fees in writing.

Insurance, connected features and local arrangements

Keep your insurer's written requirements with the policy. Ask whether you must set the alarm whenever the home is empty and what to do during a fault. Do not rely on the seller's interpretation of your cover.

For connected equipment, follow GOV.UK's smart-device safety guidance: create a strong password, enable two-step verification where available and check security-update support.

For a non-emergency incident, use the reporting routes on GOV.UK's police contact page; it distinguishes emergencies from other reports. This guide covers England. Police procedures and consumer-advice routes can differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Good to know

Choose a system you and other household members can use reliably, including when setting it at night.
Agree keyholder responsibilities and update contact details when circumstances change.
No universal installation price, monitoring fee or minimum term is quoted: compare written offers for the same scope.

Fictional example: Nadia frequently works away. She compares a phone-alert system with professional monitoring and asks who would act if she missed a notification. Her insurer confirms its requirements in writing. She chooses after checking the response procedure, total commitment and what remains usable if she later cancels.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on 6 November 2026, for England. Confidence: high for the distinction between alarm types, general cancellation rights and emergency reporting; medium for individual police-response eligibility, insurance conditions and mixed equipment-and-service contracts, which require written confirmation. No guaranteed attendance, insurance saving or universal price is asserted.