KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ****************************** Comment on should you provide service before contract is signed April 16, 2026 ********************** Comment on should you provide service before contract is signed from article on March 28, 2026 ********************** Ken Should you provide service before having a signed contract? NO, NO, NO, NEVER As a claims administrator for Security America (the only industry owned insurance program provider for alarm companies) I have written here time and time again, DON'T DO WORK WITHOUT A CONTRACT. Many of the claims we get are accidental issues caused by the workforce. Our only tool for defense (sword and shield) is the contract and no contract is almost equal to no defense, resulting in a payout. The consequence to the alarm dealer is either insurance rate hike or non-renewal because you will be seen as a bad risk. Don't be a bad risk, take out the blank contract from your service vehicle before your first tool, fill it out and get it signed before you do any work. Bart A. Didden Executive Claims Manager Security America RRG *********************** Response *********************** A properly drafted security contract will provide many legal defenses that will shield you from most claims even before the issues of whether you were at fault and damage the claimant suffered. An important provision in the K&K Contract is the jury waiver. If you have any familiarity with litigation you know that you don't want to be involved with any, and you sure don't want a jury deciding your fate. Trust in the legal system sounds grand, but it may be as outdated as sealing a deal with a handshake. No longer satisfied with giving awards in the millions juries are infamous for awarding punitive damages in the hundreds of millions, for losses that are suspect at best. Leaving yourself exposed to the sensibilities of a judge or jury in the face of obvious loss suffered by your subscriber rarely ends well. You need a way out before a trial and, if I am directing the defense, before discovery muddies up the facts and issues. The only way to accomplish this is to have an iron clad contract, a K&K Contract, and, more importantly, know how to use it. Did you ever see a tool and not know how to use it or certainly not how to maximize use of the tool? The K&K Contract is a tool and you need to know how to use it. I am off point. Your defense attorney won't need to figure out how to use your contract if you don't have one. Some of the contracts should be used for only one thing, and it ain't defending you in court or any other useful use unless you're in the wilderness and run out of leaves. You will find that the K&K Contract is indispensable keeping you out of the courtroom and the poorhouse. But it only works if you get it signed, and signed properly. Pay attention. Using best practices is, in the long run, much easier and wiser than ignoring best practices. ***************************** STANDARD FORMS Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements. click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ******************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our Email List / Email Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. You can read articles and order alarm contracts on our web site www.alarmcontracts.com ************************** Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Attorneys at Law 200 Garden City Plaza Garden City, NY 11530 516 747 6700 x 301 ken@kirschenbaumesq.com www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
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