Security Systems and Your Insurance
What insurers actually ask about, what footage a claim needs, and why the retention setting matters more than the camera count.
- What insurers ask on a policy
- What a claim needs from footage
- Why retention decides the outcome
- Monitored versus self monitored
Why this matters
The Footage You Need Is the Footage You No Longer Have
Most claims involving a security system fail on one of two things. Either nobody could be identified in the footage, or the footage from the night in question had already been overwritten.
Both are decisions made at installation, months or years before the claim. Neither is a hardware failure and neither is expensive to get right at the start.
This page is general information rather than advice about your specific policy. What your insurer recognises is written in your product disclosure statement, and your broker can tell you in five minutes.
What do you recognise as a monitored alarm, and what retention period do you expect on recorded footage. The answers change the specification and cost you nothing to obtain.
What insurers look at
Five Things That Actually Appear on a Policy
Not every insurer asks all of these, and the wording varies. These are the ones that come up most.
Whether the alarm is monitored
Insurers usually distinguish between a system that calls a monitoring centre and one that sends an alert to your phone. The two are treated very differently, and the definition is in your policy wording rather than in general advice.
Whether it was armed
A monitored system produces a record of arming and disarming. That log is often the single most useful document in a claim, and it exists only if the system was set up to keep it.
Deadlocks and physical security
Many policies still ask about key operated deadlocks on external doors and locks on accessible windows. Electronics do not replace those questions, they sit alongside them.
Whether footage can identify anyone
A wide camera showing a figure crossing a driveway supports a claim far less than a camera at identification distance at the entry. This is a placement decision, not a resolution decision.
How long footage is kept
If the incident is discovered a fortnight later and the drive holds ten days, there is nothing to submit. Retention is set by drive size against camera count and resolution, and it is decided at install.
Retention
The Setting That Decides Whether You Have Anything
Retention is the number of days a system holds before it overwrites the oldest footage. It is a function of how many cameras you run, at what resolution, and how big the drive is.
The common failure is a system sized for the quote rather than for the requirement. Eight high resolution cameras on a small drive might hold six days. That is fine until something is discovered on return from a holiday.
The second failure is a drive that filled and stopped rather than overwriting, which happens more often than people expect and produces no warning anyone notices.
- Two to four weeks suits most homes, longer for commercial or high value
- Check the actual figure, not the advertised one, because it changes with camera count
- Confirm it overwrites cleanly rather than stopping when full
- Export the clip immediately when something happens, do not rely on the drive
- Consider an offsite copy where the recorder itself could be taken
Practical steps
What to Do Before and After an Incident
The difference between a straightforward claim and a difficult one is usually preparation.
Keep the installation paperwork
Your invoice, the equipment list and the installer licence number. Insurers ask, and a system installed by an unlicensed person can complicate a claim.
Photograph the setup at handover
Where each camera points and what it covers. Two minutes at install, and it answers questions later that memory cannot.
Export footage the same day
Do not leave it on the recorder. Copy the clip to a phone or a drive as soon as you know something happened, before the system overwrites it.
Note the arming log
If the system is monitored, the arm and disarm record is available from the monitoring centre. Request it early rather than after the claim is questioned.
Do not edit the footage
Submit the original export. Trimmed or re-encoded video raises questions that the original would not.
Tell your insurer the system exists
Some policies require notification of a monitored alarm to recognise it. An unreported system is one you paid for and cannot use in the conversation.
Recent work
Systems Built With the Claim in Mind
Three installations where retention and identification distance were the deciding factors.
Identification without the eyesore
A heritage facade where visible cameras were not acceptable. Recessed units at identification distance at the entry, with retention set to four weeks rather than the default.
More on Toorak ›
The drive had been full for months
The owner discovered after an incident that the system had stopped recording rather than overwriting. Drive replaced and correctly sized, health alerts enabled, retention confirmed at handover.
More on Brighton ›
Wide coverage, nobody identifiable
Six cameras, all wide angle, all recording the top of heads. One repositioned to identification distance at the entry changed what the system could actually prove.
More on Balwyn ›Questions
Security and Insurance FAQs
Do I need to tell my insurer I installed a security system?
Usually yes if you want it recognised, and some policies require it. An unreported monitored alarm is one you have paid for and cannot rely on in a discussion about premium or a claim. Check your product disclosure statement or ask your broker.
What retention period do insurers expect?
It varies and many do not specify one. What matters practically is whether the footage still exists when the incident is discovered. Two to four weeks covers most situations. If your policy names a figure, set the system to exceed it.
Is a doorbell camera enough?
For identifying a delivery driver, yes. For a claim involving a break in at the rear of the property, no. A doorbell camera covers one approach out of the several most homes have.
Can I use footage of a neighbour or passer by?
Recording your own property is one thing. Recording a neighbour’s private activity is restricted under the Surveillance Devices Act 1999 in Victoria, and footage obtained that way creates its own problems. Our guide on Victorian camera law covers this properly.
Does a monitored alarm mean someone watches my cameras?
No. Monitoring usually means the alarm signal goes to a monitoring centre that follows a response procedure. Camera monitoring is a separate and more expensive service. The two are often confused when people compare quotes.
Is this page legal or financial advice?
No. It is general information from an installer about the questions we see come up. What your specific policy recognises is a question for your insurer or broker, and it takes one phone call.
Where to next
Related Services and Guides
For the systems themselves see security alarm installation and CCTV installation. On what you are legally allowed to record, read security camera laws in Victoria. If your existing system has stopped recording, see repairs and servicing.
Have Your System Checked Before You Need It
Retention, drive health and camera positions can all be verified in one visit. A licensed technician checks what your system would actually produce, and tells you plainly what it would not.
Borderless Solutions. Licensed and insured. 81 Junction Rd, Nunawading VIC 3131. Monday to Saturday, 7:00 to 20:00.