Securing bikes to meet home insurance requirements

[Happy_Days]

I don’t know - but I suspect Verisure use things that only they can fix

ADT alarms were known for similar issues, but they may have changed.

ADT states that their “alarm receiving centre” is NSI approved, but not whether the actual alarm system is approved. It could be the Verisure situation, i.e. a devious way to make uncertified alarms appear insurance-approved. Both brands don’t offer SSAIB-approved alarms.

Evidently, the best known names are the worst choice for alarm systems. It looks like local alarm installers are the better bet.

 

[Drago]

ADT do have NSI accreditation for their hardware. I think they to lost it at one point, but theyve gone back to proper engineers doing the installations instead of salesman using sticky pads like Verisure, their sensors are "bank grade" 128bit encrypted and are frequency agile so are tricky to either block or spoof, etc. They were one of the firms our insurers found acceptable.

ADT also qualify for level 1 alarm response from the police, ie,they're considered trustworthy enough the dibble will attend on the basis of a call from ADT alone.

Verisure et al are level 2, the feds will only pitch up if they can confirm there is an intruder on site, and not just on the basis of an alarm activation.

Many local installers are indeed very good.

SSAIB is alternative body to NSI. Very few appear to have accreditation from both, but very few people have AA membership in addition to their RAC.

 

[alanuni]

Thinking of apartments with shared ("communal") bike storage areas here. Security (who can access those areas) is often suspect with doors left ajar. And drilling your own holes into the wall/ground for an anchor is not an option.

Maybe the freehold-installed bike racks can be considered "immovable", depending on how they're installed (e.g. whether the bolts holding them down can be undone!)...any good/bad experiences with insurers here?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

their sensors are "bank grade" 128bit encrypted

Well, it‘s the encryption sir. Yes I know it looks like a jam buttie. That is what an encrypted sensor looks like.

 

[Aston]

We live in a small rural village in west Dorset, no through traffic off the main lane and we are a small lane off this with 8 houses... and yet two weeks ago one of our neighbours had their garage broken into and electric bike stolen, they didn't hear a thing, despite being an integral garage. No other garages or sheds were broken into. The owner hasn't used his bike for 2 years due to an accident, so it's not been out. This was specifically targeted, we can only think it was spotted by a parcel delivery driver who then returned. Bike was locked to something, the wall I think.

Unfortunately if someone ones it away, it'll be gone.

 

[Dadam]

@Aston How did they defeat the lock? Bolt cutters or grinder or magic lockpickinglawyer skills?

All I can say is my electric bikes are chained to a bonded in ground anchor with a hardened 22mm shackle by a chain of hardened 13mm links. They're not cutting either of those quietly, they'll have to grind. While the garage is not integral I'm pretty damn sure someone will hear that if we're not all out (quite rare). They're all insured, but I'm going to make taking them as hard as possible.

I also find talk of if someone wants it bad enough they'll take it as somewhat defeatist, and almost in a sense enabling/encouraging the scrotes.

It's about reducing the risk. There's a spectrum from a passing opportunist who might be carrying cable cutters in his pocket, seeing a bike in garden chained to a railing with a cable lock, right up to a targeted attack with a van turning up at 2am with 3 masked blokes carrying grinders and baseball bats.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I suppose that if the only place I could leave it was a shared area and no obvious secure way of locking it

Then I would think of locking it to a big heavy lump of some kind - maybe fill a box with concrete with a hardened metal loop sticking out of it
at least it makes it more difficult

 

[alanuni]

You can get battery-powered angle grinders now so the tools an opportunity might use are getting more powerful...

Interesting review in Cycling UK of angle-grinder restaurant locks here: https://www.cyclinguk.org/cycle-magazine/group-test-grinder-resistant-locks but they don't say how resistant any of them were to bolt croppers!?

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

You can get battery-powered angle grinders now so the tools an opportunity might use are getting more powerful...

Interesting review in Cycling UK of angle-grinder restaurant locks here: https://www.cyclinguk.org/cycle-magazine/group-test-grinder-resistant-locks but they don't say how resistant any of them were to bolt croppers!?

Angle grinders are fine for thieves that are going after the bikes and know they are locked up

but most thieves round here are of the "lower intelligence" type
and I suspect that most just look for a place they can break into and hope to find something

many years ago - before I even lived here - the garage next door was broken into and his bikes were taken - but it sounds like they had no idea they were there and just took them because they found them at the time
They were not locked inside the garage - just leaning against a wall once they got through the garage door