Protection 1 Pricing Plans Explained
Protection 1 is a sister company of ADT, but unlike the much larger security company, Protection 1 is transparent when it comes to their pricing plans and packages. Protection 1 offers four monitoring plans in total. Secure, Secure+, Smart Control, and Video.
Secure ($34.99/month) is a basic plan that gives you access to security, fire, and medical emergency monitoring without the bells and whistles such as smartphone access and home automation. It also uses landline instead of cellular signal for communication. In the home security industry, landline is considered an old and unreliable technology, while cellular monitoring is much more modern and harder to beat for burglars.
Secure+ ($44.99/month), as the name implies, is an improved version of the Secure plan. Instead of landline, it uses cellular signal to send alerts to Protection 1's monitoring center. It also has a built-in two-way voice feature on the control panel, allowing the monitoring center to directly contact you or listen in on the situation at your home in case of an emergency. It still lacks smartphone access though, because for the same rate of $44.99/month, most companies already offer smartphone access and even smart home features.
Those two features, smartphone and smart home access, are reserved for those who are on the Smart Control ($49.99/month) plan or higher. Smartphone access and home automation are important features because they let you control and access your security system from anywhere using your phone and create automated tasks that will make your home smarter and more secure. Smart Control also lets you add image sensors to your system. Image sensors are camera-equipped motion sensors, but unlike cameras, they can't record videos or even stream to your phone. Image sensors are only designed to capture still images when motion is detected and send them to you so you can quickly verify whether there's a real need for concern or it's just a false alarm.
If you're looking to add cameras, the Video ($54.99/month) is for you. In addition to all the features offered by Smart Control, Video lets you add cameras to your system and monitor them using the video surveillance features offered by the Protection 1 smartphone app. The security cameras are sold separately, but if you add cameras to your system, you'll be able to watch in on your family from anywhere as well as playback alert videos captured when motion is detected by the cameras.
Other Fees You Should Know About
Protection 1's monitoring rates are already higher than most alarm companies as it is, but beware because there are extra fees not included in the monthly fee.
Installation Fee
Protection 1 requires professional installation, and if you dissect their terms and conditions, you'll find that all four monitoring plans require a $99 one-time installation fee. Although this is a fixed rate, it might even go up if you have security cameras or other difficult to install products. According to Protection 1's terms and conditions:
"Service and installation charges vary depending on system configuration, equipment, and services selected."
Rate Increase
Protection 1 currently doesn't offer a rate lock-in, which means your monthly rate might increase after the first year of service. Because Protection 1 requires a 3-year contract, expect to see your monthly rate change a couple of times. Also, while Protection 1 is currently a separate entity from ADT, the plan was to eventually merge it with ADT. If that happens, current Protection 1 may expect to see changes in their monthly bill.
Taxes
Protection 1 also explicitly mentions in their terms and conditions that their monthly rates are exclusive of taxes. That said, your actual monthly bill might be slightly higher than the advertised plan pricing.
Early Termination Fees
Finally, only if you cancel the service within the initial contract term, Protection 1 will charge you an early termination fee equivalent to the entire balance of the remaining contract term. Basically, if you cancel with 10 more months remaining in your contract, Protection 1 will charge you a one-time penalty equivalent to your monthly rate for 10 months.
Ways To Save
Given Protection 1's higher rate when compared to other alarm companies, it's only normal and necessary to search for ways to somehow save. Below, we highlighted a few tips that will help you bring down your equipment or monitoring cost that we've learned from researching Protection 1's packages.
Discounts and Promotions
Protection 1 occasionally offers promotional prices, but these promotions are not usually posted on their website. The best way to catch wind of these promotions is to contact Protection 1 and ask one of their sales associates. However, do note that if you agree to Protection 1 giving you a quote, you're also agreeing to receiving a quote from ADT. This information is explicitly mentioned on Protection 1's website.
Shop Around
If you feel like the rate is still too high even after receiving discounts, we recommend shopping around. More particularly, we suggest looking into ADT's offers. ADT is a sister company of Protection 1, which offers features and products similar to what Protection 1 offers. If you like what Protection 1 offers, there's a good chance you'll also like ADT's packages. In addition, ADT usually offers larger discounts and promotions.
Insurance Discount
Most homeowners insurance companies offer premium discounts to homeowners who sign up for professional monitoring. While the discount won't have a direct effect on your monthly home security bill, it's a perk of having a monitored security system that you must take advantage of.
To claim your insurance discount, simply present a monitoring certificate to your insurance company. You can request the certificate from Protection 1.
SafetyNet Warranty
This also won't affect your monthly security bill, but the SafetyNet Warranty is a must-know perk of having a Protection 1 security system. In the unfortunate event that your home is burglarized or that you suffer a loss from fire, Protection 1 offers reimbursement of up to $1,000 in insurance deductible if you meet their qualifications. This warranty can only be claimed up to twice within a period of 12 months.
To claim the reimbursement, monitoring center must have received an alert from your security system at the time of the occurrence to prove that your system was functioning and armed when the burglary or fire happened. You must also report the incident to Protection 1 no later than 90 days after the occurrence and you must provide all the necessary documents as requested by Protection 1. And finally, you must have a good credit standing with Protection 1 in order to get the reimbursement.
