Fitting an alarm to your car or home will only shave a few pounds off your insurance premiums, new research has found.
The average saving on home insurance from adding an alarm to your property is only £5, according to Tesco Finance, while a car alarm will save you just over £1.70 on your car insurance.
Considering it can cost hundreds of pounds to purchase and install such devices, it would take decades for the investment to pay for itself.
The only way to determine whether it’s worth your while is to take the time and apply for two separate quotes from each insurer when shopping around for cover, then compare the potential saving of having an alarm to the total cost of fitting one.
Think carefully before deciding
"It is of course true that fitting alarms to your home and car may deter potential burglars and thieves from breaking into your house or car,” says Tescocompare.com commercial and partnerships director Paul Baxter.
“However, if you are planning on adding extra security like this, solely because you want to lower your home or car insurance premium, you may find it does very little to bring down costs,” says Baxter.
“Our figures show that an alarm fitted to your house on average saves you just under £5 on your annual home insurance premium, which clearly isn't very much compared to the cost of installing and maintaining a burglar alarm.
"When it comes to car alarms, the savings to be had are equally small, with most insurers offering no discount at all for adding extra security devices to your car. Some insurers however, such as the AA offered over £18 discount on the quote we ran for a car with added security alarm.”
Home insurance
Insurer | Premium with alarm | Premium without alarm | Saving |
Cover Direct | £183.25 | £186.59 | £3.34 |
Bradford & Bingley | £192.57 | £192.57 | £0.00 |
Insure.co.uk | £196.10 | £196.10 | £0.00 |
Swinton | £198.91 | £204.89 | £5.98 |
Peoples Choice | £209.29 | £209.29 | £0.00 |
Budget | £217.40 | £217.40 | £0.00 |
The AA | £224.62 | £224.62 | £0.00 |
KwikFit | £284.95 | £290.66 | £5.71 |
Prudential | £303.45 | £318.15 | £14.70 |
Privilege Platinum | £332.85 | £350.70 | £17.85 |
Source: Tescocompare. Policyholder is married with two children, 4 bedroom detached house in Essex, including personal possession away from home (with one valuable item above £1,000), accidental damage
Car insurance
Insurer | Premium with alarm | Premium without alarm | Saving |
esure | £130.99 | £130.99 | £0.00 |
Halifax | £143.52 | £143.52 | £0.00 |
ibuyeco | £145.31 | £145.31 | £0.00 |
Sheilas' Wheels | £146.43 | £146.43 | £0.00 |
Budget | £146.64 | £146.64 | £0.00 |
Endsleigh | £153.61 | £153.61 | £0.00 |
Hastings Direct | £155.24 | £155.24 | £0.00 |
Auto Direct | £157.95 | £157.95 | £0.00 |
Co-op | £158.10 | £158.10 | £0.00 |
Tesco Value | £165.90 | £165.90 | £0.00 |
Swinton | £166.48 | £170.12 | £3.64 |
Virgin Money | £171.15 | £171.15 | £0.00 |
The AA | £171.27 | £190.16 | £18.89 |
Source: Tescocompare. Cover for 1989 Mini to which an alarm is added, driver is a 30-year-old shop manager, married with no children, voluntary excess £150, 5 years NCD, 6,000 miles per year
