Being frequently on the road can put a target on your back, or in this case, on your home's back. There may not be actual signs pointing to unoccupied homes, but burglars watch for the telltale signs indicate the absence of the homeowner. For example, they watch out for piles of mails and newspapers on the doorstep or houses that don't light up at night.
As a homeowner who travels frequently, your main goal should be keeping intruders away by making them think your home is not a worthy target. You can ask a friend to collect your mail and newspaper everyday or better still, have the post office and newspaper delivery hold your mails and daily papers. You can also use smart home technology to remotely control your lights to create the illusion that you are home. And of course, you need a security system with the right features to protect a jet setter's home.
What Makes A Good Security System For Frequent Travelers?
There are people who say that "security is a state of mind," and to some degree, they are right. However, in order to feel that your home is secure, you need a security system that can let you know that your house is safe and protected. That is particularly necessary if you're not home most of the time.
As a traveler, there are certain features you should look for that can not only provide peace of mind but also actually improve your home security. Below, we've listed the most important features including the reasons why they're needed.
- Remote Access — Traditional security systems were designed to protect your home for better or for worse, but they are not at all connected to you, so there is really no way of knowing if your house in under any kind of threat. If you can access your system remotely, then you can check on your property and receive real-time alerts wherever you are.
- Real-Time Notifications — Speaking of alerts, a system that can send real-time notifications is the most ideal for frequent travelers. These notifications should come in different forms, like push notifications sent straight to your smartphone, text alerts, or email alerts.
- Cellular Monitoring — How the system communicates to you and the monitoring center is also vital. Landline is an old technology that is considered easy to defeat in the alarm industry. Broadband is also out of the question because you can't always be there to reset the router in case your internet goes down. Cellular is the only recommended option for frequent travelers as it's the most reliable and least prone to disruptions and downtimes.
- Video Monitoring — Seeing what's going on in your house with your own eyes is one of the best ways to ensure that your home is secure, so we highly recommend adding video monitoring to your security system. With security cameras, you'll be able to use your smartphone or computer to check on alerts.
- Home Automation — Besides making your home more advanced technologically, home automation can add valuable features to your home security. For example, with home automation, you can schedule your lights to turn on after sunset everyday to make it seem like you are home.
After analyzing the top alarm companies in the country, we've narrowed down our recommendation to the three best companies for frequent travelers.
Frontpoint
Frontpoint has been our #1 pick overall for several years now and they continue to bring innovation to the market and back their products with a stellar customer service culture. They also check all the right boxes when it comes to security features needed by frequent travelers.
Frontpoint offers three monitoring plans that each come with a standard equipment package at a discounted price with a three-year monitoring agreement. All three plans work with equipment that uses cellular signal for communication, but for frequent travelers, we recommend the Interactive (mid-tier) or Ultimate plan (high-end).
Interactive offers remote smartphone access, home automation, real-time push notifications, and text and email alerts. With regards to home automation, Frontpoint works with smart thermostats, garage door controllers, smart locks, light control modules, and a bunch more. The entire Frontpoint platform is powered by Alarm.com, so whatever smart devices work with Alarm.com will most likely work with Frontpoint. In our in-depth Frontpoint review, we discussed some of the third-party smart home products we recommend for a Frontpoint system, including the August Smart Lock Pro.
What makes Frontpoint's home automation platform unique is its ability to create interrelationships between connected smart home products. Aside from remotely controlling and scheduling your smart home devices using the Frontpoint smartphone or web app, you can create automation rules that automatically activates programmed actions when a trigger occurs. For example, you can program your lights to turn on when one of your sensors detects a possible intrusion. You can also use the app to give a friend or hired help temporary access codes so they can access your front door when needed without giving out actual keys to your house.
The Ultimate plan, on the other hand, offers video monitoring in addition to what Interactive offers. Frontpoint offers indoor cameras, outdoor cameras, and even video doorbells so you can monitor your entire property from different angles. If a possible break-in is detected, you can stream from your indoor cameras to check what it is. If you want to see if there are lurkers on your front yard, you can use outdoor cameras. If someone comes by and rings your doorbell, you can use the video doorbell to see who they are and even speak to them as if you're home using two-way talk.
These features are all, of course, offered by other alarm companies as well, but a big part of why we picked Frontpoint is their customer service culture. When you're travelling, you already have enough to worry about, so it's only practical to choose a security company that won't give you any more worries. Frontpoint's high-quality customer care ensures a worry and hassle-free use of their service.
Frontpoint FAQ
Can I take my system with me in case I need to relocate?
Yes. Frontpoint offers self-installed security systems. When it's time to move, simply box up the system, contact Frontpoint to update your address, and reinstall everything in your new home. Frontpoint will even send you new adhesive tapes for the sensors at no cost.
What will happen if Frontpoint can't reach me during an emergency?
The monitoring center will try to call your registered phone numbers, but if no one is available, they will contact local authorities and send help to your address.
I'm going out of the country. Can I ask one of my trusted friends or relatives to receive phone alerts instead of me?
As the owner of the system, emergency phone calls must be directed to you. However, you can set up additional emergency phone numbers for Frontpoint to call in case they can't reach you. You can also set up your relative or friend with the Frontpoint app so they, too, can verify alerts.
I have a second home. Can I hire Frontpoint to monitor it as well?
Absolutely. Frontpoint allows account linking so you can monitor your second home alongside your main house using a single account login. You can use Frontpoint's services even if your second home is a leased property because Frontpoint is also one of the most renter-friendly alarm companies.
Do I need to maintain a landline or internet connection to use Frontpoint?
Frontpoint systems use cellular signal to generate alerts, so you don't need a landline or internet connection to set up professional monitoring. However, certain features like home automation and video monitoring requires a stable internet connection to work.
How much will it cost me to set up a Frontpoint system?
With a three-year contract, you can get an equipment package starting at $99 and professional monitoring with remote access starting at $44.99 per month. Additional features like home automation and video monitoring requires upfront equipment purchase or plan upgrade. Head over here for a more detailed look at Frontpoint's monitoring plan packages and deals.
Where can I find more information about Frontpoint's security and automation features?
We've put together a comprehensive review of Frontpoint here, where we've detailed everything you should know about their features and services.
Simplisafe is currently running one of the best promotions we've seen. Check their website for full details.
SimpliSafe
SimpliSafe is a much simpler security solution than Frontpoint but just as good in offering security features recommended to frequent travelers except for home automation. What they lack in home automation, however, they make up for with their affordable pricing and contract-free monitoring.
SimpliSafe is what we call a hybrid solution. They don't offer security systems the same way as traditional alarm companies do, who bundle their equipment packages with professional monitoring with multi-year contracts. Instead, SimpliSafe requires their customers to purchase the equipment upfront, which means a higher initial payment, but offers professional monitoring without contracts. Once you set up a SimpliSafe system, you are free to switch between their professional monitoring plans.
This comes handy if you're a frequent traveler. For example, while you're travelling, you can use the Interactive plan (highest tier plan) that offers all the features recommended for frequent travelers sans home automation. If you're staying in for the majority of the month, you can temporarily downgrade your plan to Standard (mid-level plan), which provides enough security features but without remote access and video monitoring. With regards to video monitoring, SimpliSafe currently only offers an indoor camera and video doorbell. They are yet to release an outdoor camera.
The biggest downside if you're a frequent traveler planning on getting a SimpliSafe system is its lack of home automation. SimpliSafe is a security system, but it doesn't have a smart home platform so you can't do things like control your lights or thermostat from the SimpliSafe app. However, SimpliSafe works with larger third-party platforms with which you can build your smart home. For example, SimpliSafe works with Alexa, Google, and HomeKit, although features are still currently limited.
SimpliSafe FAQ
Can I take my system with me in case I need to relocate?
If you buy a SimpliSafe system, you will have full control of where to put the system. You can move it anytime or even transfer ownership of the system without going through long processes. If you're moving, however, be sure to update your personal information on SimpliSafe's database so they know where to send help in case it's needed.
What will happen if SimpliSafe can't reach me during an emergency?
If SimpliSafe can't contact you, then the monitoring center will call the police or whatever help is needed (fire or medical emergencies).
I'm going out of the country. Can I ask one of my trusted friends or relatives to receive phone alerts instead of me?
With SimpliSafe, you can have up to two primary contact numbers, which the monitoring center will call before sending help. These can be both yours, a family member, or a person you trust with your home security. If you want SimpliSafe to contact someone else, simply set their contact number as the second primary number. You can also set up secondary emergency contacts. SimpliSafe will notify them AFTER help is dispatched.
I have a second home. Can I hire SimpliSafe to monitor it as well?
Yes. All you need is a second SimpliSafe system installed in your second home. You can also link the second security systems (a.k.a. Locations) to your account so you can monitor both your primary and secondary system using the same app and login information.
Do I need to maintain a landline or internet connection to use SimpliSafe?
No. SimpliSafe has a built-in cellular chip which it uses for cellular communication. However, it also works with Wi-Fi, so if you have an internet connection, you can connect SimpliSafe to it. In case your internet is down, the system will automatically switch over to cellular signal.
How much will it cost me to set up a SimpliSafe system?
A SimpliSafe starter package costs $200 upwards and adding cameras will only increase your upfront payment. Monitoring, on the other hand, starts at $14.99/month without remote access or video monitoring or $24.99 with all the features. You can learn more about SimpliSafe's pricing in our detailed explanation of SimpliSafe's pricing plans, deals, and packages.
Where can I find more information about SimpliSafe's security and automation features?
SimpliSafe is one of the top security companies we've reviewed and we've detailed its features, equipment, and services in this in-depth SimpliSafe review.
ADT
We're sure that you're familiar with ADT, one of the best-known alarm companies in the U.S., and like Frontpoint and SimpliSafe, they offer security features recommended to frequent travelers.
ADT offers both landline and cellular connected security systems, but we recommend choosing cellular communication. They also offer remote access via the ADT app, video monitoring, home automation, and real-time alerts, although home automation and video monitoring both require a higher monthly fee.
ADT gets a special recommendation from us if you're a family person who has to travel a lot and leave your family at home. This recommendation is due to a unique feature called ADT Go, a family safety app that can be used by all ADT home security customers for free.
The app offers location check-ins and alerts, allowing you to set up notifications to know if your kids got home safe or if they really are where they say they are. It also tracks location check-ins so you know where everyone is all throughout the day. On top of that, you can use the app to access local crime statistics and driving activity of your family.
While the app is free, you can upgrade to ADT Go Premium to gain access to the SOS feature. Whenever you or your family members are in danger, wherever you may be, you can use the app to call for help. The app also pings your location so family members and responders can get to you even if you're not home.
ADT FAQ
Can I take my system with me in case I need to relocate?
Moving with ADT is a little harder than with Frontpoint and SimpliSafe, but it's still possible. You can learn more about ADT's moving policy here.
What will happen if ADT can't reach me during an emergency?
If ADT can't reach you, they will send help immediately to your registered address.
I'm going out of the country. Can I ask one of my trusted friends or relatives to receive phone alerts instead of me?
We recommend adding your phone number to the primary emergency contacts list, but you can also have a family member or friend's phone number listed. Primary numbers (a.k.a. Pre-dispatch contacts) are called before dispatching emergency response to your house.
I have a second home. Can I hire ADT to monitor it as well?
Yes. ADT is a nationwide company with offices and local dealers all throughout the United States. They offer monitoring services even to second homes.
Do I need to maintain a landline or internet connection to use ADT?
No. ADT offers cellular monitoring, which uses cellular signal. This option, however, is more expensive than their landline monitoring plans.
How much will it cost me to set up an ADT system?
ADT offers several options, so the cost is highly contingent on the system and monitoring plan you'll choose. To learn more about ADT's pricing, check out this article with put together about ADT's pricing, plans, and deals.
Where can I find more information about ADT's security and automation features?
We've also put together a comprehensive ADT review here. There, we talked about ADT's features, equipment, and customer service.